Scoliosis Surgery for Severe Distal Airway Compression on Venovenous Extra-Corporal Membrane Oxygenation: A Case Report

A 15-year-old woman presented with worsening dyspnea secondary to critical tracheobronchial compression. The airway compression was caused by severe thoracic lordoscoliosis. A posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion (PSIF) was proposed to arrest the progression of her scoliosis and airway narrowing. The case presented significant anesthetic and surgical challenges, particularly the potential for complete airway obstruction. After multidisciplinary planning, the decision was made to proceed with PSIF on venovenous extra-corporal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) support. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a patient undergoing PSIF on VV-ECMO.