Could skipping the breathing tube make lung surgery recovery easier?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Aged 18 to 80 years (inclusive). 2. Scheduled for elective, uniportal or single utility port video-assisted thoracoscopic sublobar resection (wedge resection or simple anatomical segmentectomy). 3. Preoperative CT diagnosis of a peripheral pulmonary nodule meeting: maximum diameter ≤ 2.0 cm and outer edge ≤ 2.0 cm from the visceral pleura. 4. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I or II. 5. Preoperative pulmonary function: FEV1% ≥ 60% of predicted. 6. Preoperative arterial blood gas analysis (room air): PaO₂ ≥ 80 mmHg and PaCO₂ ≤ 45 mmHg. 7. Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.0 and 28.0 kg/m². 8. Able to understand the study and provide written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Cardiovascular: NYHA class ≥ III, unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction within 3 months, or severe arrhythmia requiring medication. 2. Respiratory: Severe COPD (GOLD 3 or 4), symptomatic interstitial lung disease, resting SpO₂ \< 92% on room air, or severe pulmonary hypertension (estimated systolic PAP \> 50 mmHg). 3. Airway Risk: Modified Mallampati score ≥ 3, mouth opening \< 3 cm, or other predictors of difficult airway management. 4. Radiological: Preoperative CT suggesting extensive pleural adhesion, moderate or large pleural effusion, or mediastinal lymph nodes \> 1.5 cm short axis. 5. Contraindications to Regional Anesthesia: Infection/tumor at the block site, patient refusal, or allergy to local anesthetics. 6. Coagulopathy: Platelet count \< 100×10⁹/L, INR \> 1.5, or use of anticoagulants that cannot be safely discontinued perioperatively. 7. Other: Severe hepatic or renal dysfunction, previous ipsilateral thoracic surgery, pregnancy or lactation, active psychiatric or cognitive disorders, or participation in another conflicting clinical trial.