Meulemans et al. Evone® Flow-Controlled Ventilation During Upper Airway Surgery: A Clinical Feasibility Study and Safety Assessment. Front. Surg. 2020; 7:6.

This is the first retrospective study critically assessing the perioperative use of Evone^® and Tritube^® during upper airway surgery from a surgeon’s perspective. Dr. Meulemans and colleagues describe 15 consecutive difficult airway cases where FCV^® ventilation has been replacing traditional high frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) or ventilation through a conventional endotracheal tube. Procedures included treatment of tracheal or (sub) glottic stenosis and microsurgery of laryngeal (pre)malignancies. Apart from supporting safety and feasibility of Evone^® and Tritube^®, the authors observed clear clinical benefits including a ‘superior visualization and exposure of the surgical site’ and a minimally traumatic airway access, while avoiding drawbacks frequently occurring during HFJV such as air-trapping, hypercapnia, desaturation and emphysema. Furthermore, they emphasize that application of FCV^® through Tritube^® likely reduces the duration of surgery by allowing stable ventilation with low oxygen concentrations and by offering the surgeon a calm working space. As a result, Evone^®  ventilation is nowadays their new standard of care in most cases of endoscopic airway surgery.