Rapid resolution of severe subcutaneous emphysema with simple percutaneous angiocatheter decompression

Subcutaneous emphysema (SE) is often seen as a sequela of chest tube placement, cardiothoracic surgery, trauma, pneumothorax, infection or malignancy. In most cases SE is self-limited and requires no intervention. Rarely, air can rapidly dissect into subcutaneous tissue planes leading to respiratory...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of surgical case reports 2018-07, Vol.2018 (7), p.rjy173
Main Author: Robinson, Brenton
Format: Article
Language:English
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Case Report
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Summary:Subcutaneous emphysema (SE) is often seen as a sequela of chest tube placement, cardiothoracic surgery, trauma, pneumothorax, infection or malignancy. In most cases SE is self-limited and requires no intervention. Rarely, air can rapidly dissect into subcutaneous tissue planes leading to respiratory distress, patient discomfort and airway compromise. This is a case of a 75-year-old woman that developed massive SE and impending respiratory failure with rapid progression of air into her subcutaneous tissue. In an effort to rapidly stabilize the patient we placed multiple percutaneous angiocatheters into the subfascial space with complete resolution in
ISSN:2042-8812
2042-8812
DOI:10.1093/jscr/rjy173