17/09/2026
Shared Airway Care: First Endoscopic Airway Balloon Dilation under TIVA–SV in WVMC
A new milestone in airway care was achieved at WVMC with the successful performance of its first endoscopic balloon dilation for laryngeal stenosis under Total Intravenous Anesthesia with spontaneous ventilation (TIVA-SV). The patient, a 14-year-old female with multilevel airway stenosis secondary to TB, underwent balloon dilation to establish a safer, more patent airway while completing her anti-TB treatment, successfully avoiding tracheostomy at this time.
This landmark case marks a double first for our hospital—both as a procedural milestone and in the use of an advanced anesthetic technique—proving what our multidisciplinary team can achieve in complex, shared-airway interventions. The TIVA-SV technique maintained ventilation while providing an uninterrupted surgical field for precise balloon dilation under direct visualization.
The procedure was made possible through close collaboration between Dr. Abigail Salcedo, Pediatric ENT, and Dr. Paul Justin Dizon, Thoracic Anesthesiologist—both airway specialists in their respective fields. The success of this case highlights the vital role of ENT–Anesthesia collaboration in complex shared-airway procedures, requiring synchronized timing, dynamic airway management, and continuous intraoperative communication from induction to emergence.
This milestone expands WVMC’s capability to manage complex airway disease and underscores the importance of developing dedicated airway equipment and services to provide safer, less invasive airway care for our patients.
