The Development of Thoracic Anesthesia and Surgery

The history of anesthesia for thoracic surgery incorporates much of the history of anesthesia because contemporary thoracic anesthesia is a culmination of advances in all aspects of anesthesia. Knowledge and expertise with preoperative evaluation, airway management, intraoperative monitoring, pharmacologic agents, regional anesthesia, and intensive care management are all crucial for the thoracic anesthesiologist. Anesthesia for thoracic surgery encompasses over 100 years of advances in anesthesia techniques, and these techniques are still evolving and improving. Complex thoracic procedures are now routinely performed on frail patients who may not have been considered candidates in the past, thanks to improvements in anesthesia and surgical techniques.