Ventilatory management in shared airway surgery: current status, challenges, and future directions

A shared airway during anesthesia refers to maintaining the airway and ventilation of the patient by the anesthesiologist as the surgeon performs the procedures in the same anatomic space. Due to the narrow airway space in shared airway surgery, the difficulty lies both in the exposure of surgery field and implementation of the optimized airway management strategy and maintaining the airway safety in clinical practice. In recent years, many new visualized airway management tools and supraglottic ventilation devices have been invented and verified in clinical settings. Especially, the development of tubeless supraglottic oxygenation and ventilation technique provides new insights into the airway management. This review intends to provide a reference for future innovations in airway management tools and ventilation techniques by summarizing previous airway management strategies of shared airway surgery to benefit more patients.