Anaesthesia for obstructive symptomatic retrosternal goiter requiring hemithyroidectomy – a case report

Retrosternal thyroid enlargement is a challenging issue in anaesthesia because it may cause respiratory and hemodynamic compromise by obstructing the trachea or vascular structures. In this case report we present the anaesthetic management for hemithyroidectomy in an 83 year old female with stridor and dyspnoea caused by obstructing retrosternal goiter, focussing on the necessity of multidisciplinary approach and the airway strategy using venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as backup method.