Man, 75, has eye-lids swell so large that he could not open them

Man, 75, suffers horrific EYELID swelling after he had surgery to remove part of his lung and air pocket got trapped beneath his skin

  • An unnamed man, 75, suffered face swelling so severe he could not open his eyes after he received surgery for his COPD 
  • He suffered from subcutaneous emphysema, a condition where an air pocket emerges beneath the skin
  • The pocket slowly got worse, traveling from his chest all the way down to his pelvis and up to his face
  • He would eventually make a full recovery and within two weeks was discharged from the hospital in good condition 

A 75-year-old man suffered horrific eye swelling so bad it prevented him from opening his eyes after surgery for a collapsed lung caused a pocket of air to emerge beneath his skin.

The unnamed man was receiving treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, often known as COPD. He received surgery to remove part of his right lung when the air pocket emerged.

It continued to grow and eventually extended from his pelvis to his face. It eventually got so bad that swelling began to emerge across his neck and chest. Swelling that emerged 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 swelling in his face so severe that it prevented him from opening his eyes after complications with lung surgery

An unnamed man, 75, suffered swelling in his face so severe that it prevented him from opening his eyes after complications with lung surgery

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, an Australian research team highlighted the odd case. 

It is unclear how long the man was suffering from COPD.

Doctors performed a lung-volume–reduction surgery on the right upper lobe of his organ.

The procedure is common for people who suffer from COPD and whose condition has deteriorated to the point that part of their lung needs to be removed.

It is often used to help relieve them of breathing issues that the chronic lung condition often causes.

Because of complications with the surgery, the man suffered a collapsed lung and a subcutaneous emphysema.

This is when an air pocket emerges beneath the skin. In some cases it can cause a visible bulge to appear on a person’s body.

The edema continuously got worse and began to extend. From his chest, it moved all the way downwards to his pelvis, and all the way upwards to his face.

The man’s cheeks, chin and eyelids significantly swelled – to the point that her could not see anymore.

Doctors used a chest tube – placed between the lining of his skin and muscle – just beneath his ribs.

Within two hours of the treatment’s start his swelling had already significantly decreased. Within five days his condition had entirely resolved. 

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, occurring in a little as 0.43 percent of people, according to a University of California, Los Angeles report published earlier this year.

More than seven-out-of-ten cases are in males. In many cases it is not clinically detectable as a visible bulge does not always form. 

source: dailymail.co.uk