What is an air emphysema?
Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this condition, the air sacs in the lungs become damaged and stretched. This results in a chronic cough and difficulty breathing. Smoking is the most common cause of emphysema, but other factors can also cause it.
What is facial emphysema?
Facial subcutaneous emphysema is a rare condition, which arises when air is trapped underneath the facial skin, leading to swelling and crepitus on palpation and the potential for air to spread along fascial planes.
How is subcutaneous emphysema treated?
Several methods have been described in the literature for the treatment of extensive subcutaneous emphysema, including: emergency tracheostomy, multisite subcutaneous drainage, infraclavicular “blow holes” incisions and subcutaneous drains or simply increasing suction on an in situ chest drain.
What causes SQ emphysema?
Subcutaneous emphysema can result from surgical, traumatic, infectious, or spontaneous etiologies. Injury to the thoracic cavity, sinus cavities, facial bones, barotrauma, bowel perforation, or pulmonary blebs are some common causes.
What is an air embolism in dentistry?
Air embolism was produced by inadvertent injection of a mixture of air and water, passing through the hollow dental drill, directly into the mandible to the facial and pterygoid plexus veins and thence to the superior vena cava and right atrium.
What is a Pneumomediastinum?
Definition. Pneumomediastinum is air in the mediastinum. The mediastinum is the space in the middle of the chest, between the lungs and around the heart.
What happens if air gets under your skin?
subcutaneous emphysema, disorder in which bubbles of air become trapped under the skin. The condition can occur after surgery or traumatic accidents and can also develop locally in cases of gas gangrene. One of the frequent causes of subcutaneous emphysema is rupture of the lung tissue.
How is subcutaneous emphysema diagnosed?
If your doctor thinks you may have subcutaneous emphysema, they will perform diagnostic tests, including X-rays, a CT scan, or a bronchoscopy. Once the underlying cause is known and treated, the condition usually resolves itself in about 10 days.
How is subcutaneous emphysema detected?
A significant case of subcutaneous emphysema is easy to detect by touching the overlying skin; it feels like tissue paper or Rice Krispies. Touching the bubbles causes them to move and sometimes make a crackling noise.
What are symptoms of subcutaneous emphysema?
The symptoms of subcutaneous emphysema include:
- sore throat.
- neck pain.
- swelling of the chest and neck.
- difficulty breathing.
- difficulty swallowing.
- difficulty speaking.
- wheezing.
How long does subcutaneous emphysema last?
In most cases, subcutaneous emphysema will resolve on its own in around 10 days once the underlying cause is treated.
What is Cervicofacial edema?
The clinical diagnosis of cervicofacial emphysema is based on the sudden onset of swelling with crepitation in the absence of erythema, edema, significant tenderness, or lymphadenopathy.
What is the difference between pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum?
Pneumothorax where the air is trapped inside the chest between the chest wall and the lung, causing the lung to collapse. Pneumomediastinum where air is trapped in the middle part of the chest.
How is pneumomediastinum caused?
Most often, it occurs when air leaks from any part of the lung or airways into the mediastinum. Increased pressure in the lungs or airways may be caused by: Too much coughing. Repeated bearing down to increase abdominal pressure (such as pushing during childbirth or a bowel movement)
What does subcutaneous emphysema mean?
Subcutaneous emphysema occurs when air gets into tissues under the skin. This most often occurs in the skin covering the chest or neck, but can also occur in other parts of the body.
What are the symptoms of subcutaneous emphysema?
What are the signs and symptoms of subcutaneous emphysema?
Where does subcutaneous emphysema occur?
What does subcutaneous emphysema look like?
Subcutaneous emphysema can often be seen as a smooth bulging of the skin. When a health care provider feels (palpates) the skin, it produces an unusual crackling sensation (crepitus) as the gas is pushed through the tissue.
What does subcutaneous emphysema sound like?
Subcutaneous emphysema has a characteristic crackling-feel to the touch, a sensation that has been described as similar to touching warm Rice Krispies. This sensation of air under the skin is known as subcutaneous crepitation, a form of Crepitus….
| Subcutaneous emphysema | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Emergency medicine |
What causes tissue emphysema in dentistry?
As stated, the primary cause of tissue emphysema in dentistry is the introduction of air, produced by various devices, into the tissues. However, during en- dodontic therapy the release of oxygen into the tissues from the use of hydrogen peroxide has also been implicated [23-25] as a cause of subcutaneous air emphysema.
How serious is emphysema secondary to dental procedures?
In conclusion, subcutaneous emphysemas secondary to dental procedures are rare, but can be a potentially life-threatening complication if not diagnosed and treated quickly and properly. Entrapped air can advance deeper in the soft tissue and cause a fatal air embolism and/or dangerous infections through dissemination of bacteria.
What causes subcutaneous air emphysema?
Subcutaneous air emphysema may result following common oral surgery procedures. Some of the potential causes of the in- creased air diffusion are coughing, blowing the nose, rinsing the mouth, sneezing, playing a musical instrument, air-generating den – tal instruments and air travel [27].
Do high-speed air-driven handpieces increase the risk of subcutaneous emphysema?
Considering that use of high-speed air-driven handpieces is a chief cause of subcutaneous emphysema in dental settings, clinicians are advised to closely follow manufacturers’ recommendations as to proper use and maintenance, as this will help prevent complications.