• More recently, the so-called lung-protective intraoperative ventilation strategies have been advocated to prevent lung injury. Such strategies aim at minimizing lung hyperinflation as well as cycling collapse and reopening of lung units, through the use of low tidal volumes (VTs) and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). However, despite huge improvements in surgical and anesthesia techniques and management. It is surprising that, so far, mortality and pulmonary complication rates were not reduced over time .Recently, several investigations suggest an association between high driving pressure (the difference between the plateau pressure and the level of PEEP) and outcome for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. It is uncertain whether a similar association exists for high driving pressure during surgery and the occurrence of postoperative pulmonary complications. In this issue, Ary S Neto and colleagues report an individual patient data meta-analysis further investigating the risk of mechanical ventilation in healthy individuals during general anesthesia .After both a multivariate and mediation analysis, the driving pressure, but not the tidal volume or the positive end-expiratory pressure applied, seemed to be the only parameter that was associated with the development of postoperative pulmonary complications. This randomized controlled trial is aims to prove that driving pressure limited ventilation is superior in preventing postoperative pulmonary complications to existing protective ventilation.