First-of-its-kind airway surgery gives new hope to critically ill patient at NEIGRIHMS

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 24, 2025

In a significant medical breakthrough, doctors at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), Shillong, have successfully carried out a novel airway procedure—marking the first such case in Northeast India.

The life-saving intervention was performed on a critically ill young woman suffering from a rare and life-threatening complication known as “Stump Blowout.” The condition, which followed a lung resection surgery in 2019, led to severe pneumonia and lung infection caused by the reopening of a surgically sealed airway.

Due to her fragile condition and active infection, immediate surgery was not feasible. The patient was stabilized in the ICU using single-lung ventilation.

A multidisciplinary team consisting of Dr. Vijay Noel Nongpiur (Associate Professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine), Dr. Reuben L. Kynta (Associate Professor, Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery), Dr. Neelamjingbha Sun (Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery) and Dr. Advait Mohan (Senior Resident, Department of Pulmonary Medicine), devised a non-surgical solution involving the placement of a custom-modified Y-shaped silicone stent. The stent successfully sealed the damaged airway stump, prevented infection from spreading to the healthy lung, and allowed the patient to breathe independently.

The silicone stent offers a temporary solution, buying time to treat the infection and build the patient’s strength for future reconstructive surgery.

Unlike metallic stents, it can be safely removed once definitive surgery is done to close the damaged stump.

The team was assisted by Dr. Aravind (Senior Resident) and Dr. Priyanka Dev (Associate Professor) from the department of Anaesthesia, who provided general anaesthetic cover and backup during the procedure.

Director NEIGIRIHMS, Prof. Nalin Mehta lauded the team for their innovative approach and added that this was the first instance that such a stent was used in the region and procedures like these underlined the eminence of NEIGRIHMS in providing advanced health care in the region.