Facial emphysema after sinus lift

Abstract

An 80-year-old man with a history of en bloc resection of squamous cell carcinoma of the hard palate (T4aN0M0) was performed a lateral-window sinus lift of the edentulous area of the left maxillary molar region to facilitate future placement of dental implants.Two hours after the surgery, the patient complained of sudden malar swelling. Marked swelling was present from the left infraorbital region to the buccal region. The swelling was associated with air pockets at the alar base and in the angulus oculi medialis region and subcutaneous malar tissue. Emphysema appeared after the patient blew his nose. Therefore, the mucous membrane of the maxillary sinus might have had a small hole, and air might have entered the subcutaneous tissue via the bone window when the air pressure in the maxillary sinus increased with nose blowing. It is important to advise patients to avoid increasing the intraoral pressure after sinus-lift procedure.