Anesthesia airway management in a patient with upper tracheal tumor

The main challenge for surgical resection of tumors located at the upper trachea is contemplate formulated plan for providing maximal surgical access to the trachea while ensuring patent airway and adequate oxygenation at the same time. In this report, we describe a patient who presented with an upper tracheal tumor located 3cm from the vocal cord and severe tracheal constriction, occluding tracheal lumen by 90%. Initial ventilation was established by implantation with a supreme laryngeal mask airway. An emergent tracheotomy and distal tracheal intubation were used to combat bleeding and subsequent airway obstruction. Eventually, tracheal tumor resection plus tracheal reconstruction via median sternotomy was successfully conducted under general anesthesia. The whole process is uneventful.