ON THE COVER:
Body habitus, pneumoperitoneum, and Trendelenburg positioning may each independently impair lung mechanics during robotic laparoscopic surgery. In this issue of Anesthesiology, Tharp et al. examined the effects of increasing body mass index, pneumoperitoneum, and Trendelenburg positioning on atelectasis, driving pressures, and lung elastance. In an accompanying Editorial, Bao and Vidal Melo provide perspective on how the new study results can be used to provide protective mechanical ventilation in obese patients undergoing robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery. Cover Illustration: A. Johnson, Vivo Visuals.
Tharp et al.: Body Habitus and Dynamic Surgical Conditions Independently Impair Pulmonary Mechanics during Robotic–assisted Laparoscopic Surgery: A Cross-sectional Study, p. 750
Bao and Vidal Melo: Lung Mechanics of the Obese Undergoing Robotic Surgery and the Pursuit of Protective Ventilation, p. 695
