What is a lung lavage?
Whole lung lavage is a procedure in which the patient is placed under general anesthesia, a double-lumen endotracheal tube (a special “Y” shaped plastic breathing tube) is positioned with one end of the “Y” in each lung and the other end protruding out from the windpipe (trachea) and mouth. This allows air to be moved into and out of one lung using a ventilator (mechanical breathing machine) while saline (salt water solution)is flowed into and drained out of the other lung to “wash out” the excess surfactant. Approximately 15 to 50 liters of saline is used to wash each lung. After completing the lavage of the firs lung, the second lung is washed. In most, but not all centers, there is a period of one or more days between lung lavages to allow the patient to recover.
