Anaesthesia mumps: much to do about nothing

Abstract

Anaesthesia mumps is an uncommon postoperative complication resulting in unilateral or bilateral swelling of the parotid glands following surgical and endoscopic procedures. Our case illustrates the benign course of anaesthesia mumps in a postoperative vaginal hysterectomy patient with no underlying illness and also discusses previous cases in the literature and management strategies.

Acute bilateral parotid swelling upon laryngeal mask airway insertion: A case report

“…5–9 Ages ranged from three to 73 years. All surgery was elective and included craniotomy, 5,6 carotid endarterectomy, 7 thyroidectomy, 8 lumbar spine fixation, 4,9 hysterectomy, 10–12 caesarean section, 13,14 laparotomy, 14,15 upper limb orthopaedic surgery 16 and urological surgery. 17 Two cases documented co-induction with midazolam, more than half received fentanyl and all cases used either propofol or thiopentone for induction.…”

“…6 Head position has also been identified as a possible cause where venous pooling and perioral congestion associated with prone, lateral or Trendelenburg positions may also contribute towards the development of swelling. 6,10,17 Head extension or lateral positions have been thought to cause glandular ischaemia through arterial and venous compression. 6 Retrograde flow through Stensen's duct due to straining and coughing 17 or retention of secretions in salivary glands due to dehydration or anticholinergics were also proposed.…”

Anaesthesia mumps presenting as an airway emergency requiring tracheal intubation

“…The occurrence of acute transient sialadenitis has been described after gastroscopy, bronchoscopy and non‐shared airway procedures [1]. Anaesthesia mumps has also been reported following laryngeal mask insertion [2], neuraxial anaesthesia [3] and in the paediatric population [4].…”