Subcutaneous Emphysema, Pneumo-Orbita and Pneumomediastinum Following a Facial Trauma Caused by a High-Pressure Car Washer

Abstract

Pneumomediastinum is air leakage to mediastinal space from various potential sites, including lung, esophagus, trachea, and neck. It is a rare condition that develops either spontaneously with increased intraalveolar or intrabronchial pressure, or due to trauma. Although cases where face or neck trauma with subcutaneous emphysema that extended to mediastinal cavity via anatomical connections in face and neck have been reported, orbital traumas leading to pneumomediastinum are very rare occurrences that have seldom been reported. This paper documents a 17-year-old male who presented with diffuse subcutaneous emphysema involving paraorbital facial areas, which extended to neck and mediastinal cavity.

Ocular proptosis caused by compressed air injury

“…2,3 The case reported in 2014 was examined by CT, and no conjunctival laceration was mentioned. 5 In our case, no conjunctival laceration was able to be identified; this was possibly related to prominent proptosis.…”

Pneumomediastinum as a Complication of Oral and Maxillofacial Injuries: Report of 3 Cases and a 50-Year Systematic Review of Case Reports

“…In addition, the selected publications contained 61 patients (Table 1). 4–61 One of the selected articles comprised one which was among the 3 aforementioned identified patients of our retrospective search. The overwhelming majority of them were males (87.1%, n = 56) with mean age 34.9 years (median 34.5; 2 months-82 years).…”

High-Pressure Injection Injuries to the Hand: A Case Report

“…The thumb and first two fingers are those most likely to be injured [7]. Air trapped in the subcutaneous tissues can occur in due to trauma or surgical dissection, generation of gas by chemicals (hydrogen peroxide) introduced into the wound, accidental injection of compressed air, a football inflation pump, scuba diving equipment, a mishap during blood donation, factitious manipulations related to Munchausen syndrome and air introduced into the deeper tissues as a result of air trapping by valve like wound edges or as a result of high pressure water injection or improper irrigation [8][9][10]. High pressure guns emit jet streams at pressures of thousands of pounds per square inch (psi).…”