Intraoperative ventilatory strategies for prevention of pulmonary atelectasis in obese patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery.

Background: Atelectasis occurs regularly after induction of general anesthesia, persists postoperatively, and may contribute to significant postoperative morbidity and additional health care costs. Laparoscopic surgery has been reported to be associated with an increased incidence of postoperative atelectasis. It has been shown that during general anesthesia, obese patients have a greater risk of atelectasis than nonobese patients.