Vol.95 No.9 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 95 No. 9 September 2002
A Case of Postoperative Laryngopharyngeal
Edema following Bilateral Neck Dissection
Yoshihiro Hyodo, Yukihiro Masuda, Takehiro Karaho
Tetsuya Tanabe and Satoshi Kitahara
(National Defense Medical College)
We present a case of postoperative laryngopharyngeal edema following simultaneous bilateral neck dissection with preservation of the left internal jugular vein.
A 66-year-old male underwent bilateral neck dissection for nodal metastasis of mesopharyngeal cancer. Approximately 23 hours postoperatively, dyspnea and stridor appeared. Fiberscopic inspection was performed and advanced upper airway stenosis due to severe laryngopharyngeal edema could be observed. Therefore, emergency tracheostomy was performed and airway was successfully secured.
Thereafter, slight improvement of laryngopharyngeal edema was recognized on the fourth day, and remarkably improvement was noted on the sixth postoperative day.
We were able to successfully close the tracheal stoma on the eighteenth postoperative day.
Key words : laryngopharyngeal edema, bilateral neck dissection, internal jugular vein