The 75-year-old man is suffering from horrific swelling in his eyelids after undergoing surgery to remove part of his lung and trapping an air pocket under his skin
- An unnamed man, 75, suffered from facial swelling so severe he could not open his eyes after undergoing surgery for his COPD
- He suffered from subcutaneous emphysema, a condition in which an air pocket develops under the skin
- The bag was slowly getting worse, moving from his chest down to his pelvis and up to his face
- He eventually made a full recovery and was discharged from the hospital in good condition within two weeks
A 75-year-old man suffered horrific eye swelling so bad he couldn’t open his eyes after surgery for a collapsed lung caused an air blister to appear under his skin.
The unnamed man was being treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, often known as COPD. He was having surgery to remove part of his right lung when the air pocket emerged.
It continued to grow, eventually extending from his pelvis to his face. It eventually got so bad that swelling appeared on his neck and chest. A swelling that appeared on his face prevented his eyes from opening fully.
Doctors used a chest tube to treat the man and he eventually made a full recovery.
An unnamed man, 75, suffered from facial swelling so severe he could not open his eyes after complications from lung surgery
An Australian research team published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday highlighted the odd case.
How long the man suffered from COPD is unclear.
Doctors performed lung volume reduction surgery on the right upper lobe of his organ.
The procedure is common in people who have COPD and whose condition has gotten so bad that part of their lungs need to be removed.
It is often used to relieve breathing problems that chronic lung disease often causes.
Due to complications from the operation, the man suffered a collapsed lung and subcutaneous emphysema.
This is when an air pocket develops under the skin. In some cases, there may be a visible bump on a person’s body.
The edema got worse and started to spread. From his chest it moved all the way down to his pelvis and all the way up to his face.
The man’s cheeks, chin, and eyelids swelled significantly – to the point where she could no longer see.
Doctors used a chest tube – placed between the skin and muscles – just under his ribs.
Within two hours of starting treatment, his swelling had already reduced significantly. Within five days, his condition had completely improved.
A week after the tube was removed, doctors were able to discharge him from the hospital in good condition.
Subcutaneous emphysema is a rare condition that occurs in just 0.43 percent of people, according to a report by the University of California, Los Angeles released earlier this year.
More than seven out of ten cases affect men. In many cases it is clinically undetectable as a visible bulge does not always form.
