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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

A Case of Anesthesia Mumps

Anesthesiology Department; Medical Faculty of Pamukkale University; Denizli, Turkey (Serin) Thoracic Surgery Department; Medical Faculty of Pamukkale University; Denizli, Turkey (Kaya) Ear, Nose and Throat Department; Medical Faculty of Pamukkale University; Denizli, Turkey (Kara) Pulmonary Diseases Department; Medical Faculty of Pamukkale University; Denizli, Turkey; sevinbaser{at}pau.edu.tr (Baser)

To the Editor:

We report the case of a 55-year-old patient with swelling of the left parotid gland after general anesthesia (Fig. 1). He had a thoracotomy for right upper lobe resection and he was in the left lateral position during surgery. The swelling disappeared spontaneously after 48 h. Swelling of the salivary glands after general anesthesia is a rare event and has been labeled as "anesthesia mumps" (1–3).

View larger version (131K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. The swelling at the left parotis gland postoperatively.

Although the exact mechanism for development of anesthesia mumps is not fully understood, several reasons for its development have been suggested. First, straining and/or coughing during anesthesia increase pressure in the oral cavity. This combined with a loss of muscle tone around Stensen's orifice after administration of neuromuscular relaxants might facilitate retrograde passage of air into and swelling of the parotid gland (4,5). Second, the swelling might be related to retention of secretions causing a blockage of the salivary ducts. Third, dehydration may play a role in causing secretions to thicken leading to salivary-duct occlusion (3). Head positioning during the procedure may also play a role in etiology, as in our case, where the involved parotid gland was dependent during surgery.

Similar to our case, anesthesia mump is usually noted in the recovery room, no treatment other than reassurance is indicated (5). However, adequate hydration and warm compresses may be helpful for relieving symptoms (3). Rapid subsidence of the swelling can be expected in 1–5 days.

REFERENCES

1. Sarr MG, Frey H. A unique case of benign postoperative parotid swelling. Johns Hopkins Med J 1980;146:11–15.[Web of Science][Medline]
2. Katayama T, Katou F, Motegi K. Unilateral parotid swelling after general anaesthesia. A case report. J Craniomaxillofac Surg 1990;18:229–32.[Medline]
3. Bahadur S, Fayyaz M, Mehboob S. Salivary gland swelling developing after endoscopy: anesthesia mumps. Gastrointest Endosc 2006;63:345–7.[Web of Science][Medline]
4. Rubin MM, Cozzi G, Meadow E. Acute transient sialadenopathy associated with anesthesia. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 1986;61:227–9.[Web of Science][Medline]
5. Mandel L, Surattanont F. Bilateral parotid swelling: a review. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2002;93:221–37.[Web of Science][Medline]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Serin, S. Articles by Baser, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Serin, S. Articles by Baser, S.