We report a patient with a giant tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) planned for reconstructive surgery. Because mechanical ventilation in any form was technically impossible, we successfully used veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) without the need for mechanical ventilation.
Keywords: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO); surgery; tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF).