SEVERE tracheal stenosis can not only cause criti- cal medical problems such as severe shortness of breath

hypoxia

and even orthopnea

but also impose overwhelming challenges on the physicians

particularly the anesthesiologist. Life-threa- tening airway obstruction can make the patient’s gas exchange extremely difficult.Though several options could be offered regarding the treatment of tracheal stenosis

normally

tracheal resection and following reconstruction is the first choice for severe airway stenosis.

1

Successful surgical intervention relies on the close communication and cooperation between surgeons and anesthesiologists. In these cases

airway management is the top issue for the anesthesiologist

and the level of difficulty varies with stenosis location

severity of stenosis

and surgical technique. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)

or cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)

is rarely utilized for the surgery

but for those impossible airways due to nearly complete tracheal obstruction

ECMO or CPB could be the final choice for anesthesiologists.

2-4

Here we report a case of successful urgent airway management for tracheal resection and reconstruction assisted by temporary CPB.