Insertion of a Fogarty catheter through a slip joint section for neonatal and infantile one-lung ventilation : a report of two cases

Here, we report two cases involving a neonate and child in which a slip joint section was used to thread a Fogarty catheter into the endotracheal tube for one-lung ventilation (OLV). Both the neonate and infant required OLV, and were placed under general anesthesia. A Fogarty catheter was used for OLV. The Fogarty catheter was passed into the intraluminal side of the endotracheal tube through a slip joint section. OLV was maintained successfully without severe air leakage or Fogarty catheter displacement. The neonate had been intubated pre-operatively with a 3.5-mm inner diameter endotracheal tube, and we used that tube. These cases indicate that the technique can be applied to pre-operatively intubated patients and does not require surgeons to exchange endotracheal tubes. Use of the slip joint section technique facilitates Fogarty catheter fixation without additional dead space.