One Lung Ventilation: A Clinical Guide

One lung ventilation (OLV) is the selective ventilation of a single lung while the contralateral lung is deliberately collapsed. It is essential in thoracic surgery, trauma management, and any scenario that demands lung isolation — such as controlling massive hemoptysis, protecting a healthy lung from contamination, or providing a still surgical field for procedures on the lung, esophagus, or mediastinum.

The two most common approaches to lung isolation are the double lumen endotracheal tube (DLT) and the bronchial blocker. Both are effective in the operating room but demand experienced hands, direct laryngoscopy or fiberoptic guidance, and a series of delicate positioning steps.

• Selecting the correct DLT size for the patient's anatomy.
• Directing the bronchial lumen into the target mainstem bronchus.
• Confirming placement with fiberoptic bronchoscopy.
• Re-confirming after every patient reposition.

This complexity has historically kept OLV out of the pre-hospital and emergency setting, where clinicians rarely have the equipment, time, or repetitions to place a double lumen tube reliably.

The LIT Device is a simplified airway selection method that replaces five small pieces used in a delicate DLT placement procedure with one integrated solution. That consolidation moves lung isolation earlier in the care process — into the field, the ambulance, and the emergency department — so providers can deliver a higher level of care without waiting for the operating room.

By streamlining the workflow, the LIT Device makes one lung ventilation approachable for providers who previously had to defer to specialists, and it shortens the path from decision to isolation for the teams who already perform DLT placement every day.