A patient meeting any of the exclusion criteria listed below must be excluded from participating in the trial.
Age < 18 years
Previous lung surgery (any)
Persistent hemodynamic instability, intractable shock (considered hemodynamically unsuitable for the study by the patient’s managing physician)
History of previous severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (non–invasive ventilation and/or oxygen therapy at home, repeated systemic corticosteroid therapy for acute exacerbations of COPD)
Recent immunosuppressive medication (patients receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy up to two months prior to surgery)
Severe cardiac disease (New York Heart Association class III or IV, acute coronary syndrome or persistent ventricular tachyarrhythmias)
Invasive mechanical ventilation longer than 30 minutes (e.g., general anesthesia for surgery) within last 30 days
Pregnancy (excluded by anamneses and/or laboratory analysis)
Prevalent acute respiratory distress syndrome expected to require prolonged postoperative mechanical ventilation
Severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, defined as systolic pulmonary artery pressure > 40 mmHg
Intracranial injury or tumor
Need for intraoperative prone or lateral decubitus position
Need for one-lung ventilation
Cardiac surgery
Neurosurgery
Planned reintubation following surgery
Enrolled in other interventional study or refusal of informed consent