Delayed Airway Obstruction in Posterior Fossa Craniotomy with Park-Bench Position—A Case Report and Review of the Literatures

Abstract

Background: Park-bench position is a commonly used position in patients operated with cerebellopontine tumor, microvascular decompression, or lesions of cerebellar hemisphere and vertebral artery. Several complications associated with this positioning have been described. However, the delayed airway complication resulting from park-bench position has been rarely reported in the literatures. Herein, we report a rare case of delayed airway obstruction after a posterior-fossa craniotomy with park-bench position for acoustic neuroma. Case Presentation: A 43-year-old woman, who has a right acoustic neuroma, was placed in the park-bench position for a posterior-fossa craniotomy. The anesthesia and operation were performed smoothly. However, progressive swelling in the left neck with extending to left face occurred two hours after endo-tracheal extubation. Computed tomographic scan of neck revealed diffuse swelling of the muscles and deep soft tissue in the left side. No obvious embolization of vascular system including jugular vein was found in the sonography. Because of obstruction in upper airway, orotracheal intubation and a head-up position were performed. The clinical symptoms improved gradually since the third post-operative day. She was discharged with obvious complications on the 23rd day after the operation. Conclusion: The possible mechanisms may originate from the kinking of the jugular vein due to hyper-flexed neck position during surgery. To prevent such complication, we must take great care of the anesthetized patients when placed in the forced neck position and always keep this rare but so critical complication in mind.