Airway Compromise Due to Extensive Subcutaneous Emphysema Following Trauma: A Case Report

Author Info

Hendry K Geraty S Čačala SR George Oosthuizen

Corresponding Author

George Oosthuizen
Department of Surgery, Ngwelezana hospital, University of KwaZulu Natal, Empangeni, South Africa

A B S T R A C T

Subcutaneous or surgical emphysema (SE) following chest trauma is usually not of major concern in itself and tends to be self-limiting, provided the underlying cause has been addressed. Occasionally, a patient may present with massive SE which may threaten the patient’s airway and breathing. It is important for clinicians to have a management approach to such patients. Here we present such a case that was admitted to our hospital, describing the management approach and review the existing literature on the subject.

Article Info

Article Type

Case Report

Publication history

Received: Sat 11, Feb 2023
Accepted: Fri 03, Mar 2023
Published: Wed 01, Nov 2023

Copyright

© 2023 George Oosthuizen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.JSCR.2023.01.01