Venous Malformation in Upper Airway - Anaesthetic Challenges and Management

We present a patient with a venous malformation involving the upper airway, who developed airway obstruction immediately after extubation, requiring reintubation and tracheostomy. Our reflection on the management of this case highlights several important learning points. These include: (i) the importance of clear communication between different medical specialties to promote shared situation awareness, (ii) limitations in training anaesthesiologists beyond standard difficult airway management algorithms and (iii) the implications of the skillset mix of doctors responding to airway emergencies.