Subcutaneous emphysema often occurs as a result of surgery, trauma of the aerodigestive tract, and increased alveolar pressure. Generally, spontaneous emphysema is rare, because "spontaneous" is only used to describe emphysema that has no
obvious
etiology. We reviewed six cases of non-traumatic subcutaneous emphysema occurring in the head and neck. Among them, four cases were associated with pneumomediastinum. Two occurred without obvious etiology, another two were due to heavy lifting
events,
one due to severe vomiting, and the last one due to severe blowing. Most cases occurred in young males. Clinical symptoms, commonly involved sites, treatments and results of these cases of spontaneous emphysema were analysed.
|