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Case Reports
. 2016 Dec;44(6):317-319.
doi: 10.5152/TJAR.2016.68889. Epub 2016 Dec 1.

Failed Mask Ventilation due to Air Leakage around the Orbit in a Patient with a History of Radical Maxillofacial Surgery with Orbital Exenteration

Reiko Horishita  1 , Kenji Kayashima  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Failed Mask Ventilation due to Air Leakage around the Orbit in a Patient with a History of Radical Maxillofacial Surgery with Orbital Exenteration

Reiko Horishita et al. Turk J Anaesthesiol Reanim. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

A 72-year-old male (height: 160 cm, weight: 53 kg) was scheduled to undergo left renal and male with ans uterine tract resection. The patient had previously undergone right radical maxillofacial surgery with orbital exenteration 14 years before the present operation to treat squamous cell carcinoma of the right maxillary sinus, with tumour invasion to the orbital floor. An anaesthesiologist encountered difficulty in performing mask ventilation during the induction of anaesthesia in the patient, despite a good mask fit on the face, because the adhesive tape around the orbit had moved. Urgent endotracheal intubation was successful without desaturation. A postoperative examination revealed that a communication between the nasal cavity and the orbit was visible on computed tomograms obtained nine years before the surgery. The patient felt the air leakage around the adhesive tape. The anaesthesiologist should have removed the adhesive tape to directly observe the lesion and should have realised that the communication might cause difficulty in mask ventilation. Careful examination of the airways using computed tomography and precise interviews may improve the understanding of patients' airways and may help avoid similar events.

Keywords: Airway management; maxillofacial surgery; orbit.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The oral cavity and the right orbit covered with an adhesive tape
Figure 2
Figure 2
a–d. Computed tomograms of the head. A communication exists between the nasal cavity and the orbit
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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