IntroductionMany patients require a period of mechanical ventilatory support during their treatment. The specific reasons why patients require mechanical ventilatory support vary widely, but the need for this type of support is primarily due to the inability of the patient's respiratory system to ventilate or exchange gases. Although daily maintenance of the patient's mechanical ventilator is one of the respiratory therapist's primary duties in patient care, the therapist is also responsible for weaning and terminating the ventilatory support system for patients. The ventilator discontinuation process is one of the most important component processes of the overall management of ventilator patients. In these cases, the doctor must find a balance between the patient's capabilities and his requests. When the patient's needs exceed his capabilities, mechanical ventilation must be supported, and when the patient's capabilities exceed his capabilities, mechanical ventilation can be stopped. The respiratory therapist's role in this decision to discontinue ventilatory support is very important as many complications can occur if the patient is removed from ventilatory support before he or she is ready or if the patient is left on the ventilator longer than necessary. These complications, along with guidelines for ventilator withdrawal and protocol, will be discussed in this document. Complications "When the conditions that warranted placing the patient on the ventilator stabilize and begin to resolve, care should be taken to remove the ventilator as quickly as possible." (MacIntyre, 375-396) This statement is true because the complication rate… the focus of the article… specializes in caring for patients who are permanently ventilator dependent. The latest recommendation states that these long-term ventilator-dependent patients should still attempt to be weaned with slow-paced self-breathing trials and gradual lengthening. Conclusions In conclusion, the ventilator withdrawal process involves careful consideration, clinical evaluations and decisions by all members of the medical staff. Many complications can occur when ventilator withdrawal is not performed at the optimal time for the patient. In order to reduce the occurrence of these complications, medical professionals should follow the above guidelines. This will be clinically significant for me personally as a respiratory therapist because I will be responsible for at least part of the ventilator withdrawal process for my patients on mechanical ventilatory support