Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 16, 2021; 9(29): 8932-8937
Published online Oct 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i29.8932
Severe bleeding after operation of preauricular fistula: A case report
Chun-Hui Tian, Xiao-Juan Chen
Chun-Hui Tian, Xiao-Juan Chen, Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Suzhou Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Suzhou 235200, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Tian CH performed the diagnostic investigations and treatments; Chen XJ reviewed the literature and contributed to manuscript drafting; all authors issued final approval for the version to be submitted.
Supported by the Natural Science Research Project of Wanbei Health Vocational College, No. WZK201909.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Corresponding author: Chun-Hui Tian, MD, Surgeon, Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Suzhou Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 299 Bianhe Middle Road, Yongqiao District, Suzhou 235200, Anhui Province, China. chunhuient@163.com
Received: June 29, 2021
Peer-review started: June 29, 2021
First decision: July 15, 2021
Accepted: August 3, 2021
Article in press: August 3, 2021
Published online: October 16, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Severe eyelid edema and blood accumulation in the submandibular space after preauricular fistula surgery is rarely reported.

CASE SUMMARY

We report a 4-year-old girl with eyelid edema and swelling of the submandibular region after preauricular fistula resection under general anesthesia. When drug treatment failed, neck computed tomography examination was performed, which confirmed severe bleeding in the submandibular space. Later, exploration and ligation of the superficial temporal artery were performed under general anesthesia to stop the bleeding. The child was successfully treated, and there were no abnormalities over 1 year of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

When severe bleeding occurs after preauricular fistula surgery, superficial temporal artery rupture should be considered as a cause.

Keywords: Preauricular lesions, Bleeding, Infection, Excision, Surgical treatment, Case report

Core Tip: In clinical practice, infection and recurrence of preauricular fistula after operation are very common. However, eyelid edema and swelling of the submandibular area are very rare, and the possibility of superficial temporal artery bleeding should be considered when anti-inflammatory and antiallergic therapies are ineffective. This can be verified by computed tomography, and exploration and thorough hemostasis are keys to resolving the problem and avoiding more serious consequences.