Korean J Anesthesiol.  2003 Oct;45(4):540-543. 10.4097/kjae.2003.45.4.540.

Respiratory Difficulty at a Postanesthesia Care Unit after Total Thyroidectomy: A case report

• Jeong JY
• Lee SY
• Lee HD
• Suk EH
• Lee SN
• Park DH

• KMID: 2299041
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2003.45.4.540

Abstract

We had a case of respiratory difficulty following total thyroidectomy due to bilateral vocal cord palsy. The patient was a 49-year-old female undergoing total thyroidectomy for papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. Anesthesia was performed uneventfully. Spontaneous respiration resumed after reversal of the neuromuscular blockade. However, after arriving at the postanesthesia care unit, she developed hypertension, anxiety, tachypnea, and inspiratory stridor during deep inspiration. Because the patient maintained adequate oxygen saturation, we confirmed bilateral vocal cord palsy by fiberoptic laryngoscopy. During the operation, the surgeon experienced difficulty dissecting the bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerves from the surrounded tumor. So we consider that direct nerve injury was responsible for the bilateral vocal cord palsy. Movement of the right vocal cord recovered a week later.

Keyword

recurrent laryngeal nerves; total thyroidectomy; vocal cord palsy

MeSH Terms

Anesthesia
Anxiety
Carcinoma, Papillary
Female
Humans
Hypertension
Laryngoscopy
Middle Aged
Neuromuscular Blockade
Oxygen
Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve
Respiration
Respiratory Sounds
Tachypnea
Thyroid Gland
Thyroidectomy*
Vocal Cord Paralysis
Vocal Cords
Oxygen