Postoperative management: ventilation.
The major pulmonary disturbance after pediatric cardiac surgery consists of a loss of lung volume with an increase in extravascular lung water. Therapy is aimed at restitution of functional residual capacity with positive air-way pressure, with or without mechanical ventilation. After major corrective surgery, mechanical ventilation allows the patient to adjust to the altered circulatory physiology while decreasing the work of breathing. The technique of intermittent mandatory ventilation allows a smooth change from ventilatory support to spontaneous respiration.
Adolescent↗