Retropharyngeal abscess complicating 'innocent' foreign body ingestion

Empyema and mediastinitis complicating retropharyngeal abscess.

A 21 year old man with a retropharyngeal abscess complained of right sided chest pain, and chest radiography and thoracocentesis revealed an empyema. A computed tomographic scan of the chest showed a posterior mediastinal abscess communicating with the right pleural cavity. Emergency thoracotomy was performed and the mediastinal abscess and empyema were drained.

Foreign body ingestion: rare cause of cervical abscess.

INTRODUCTION Foreign body ingestion is a frequent emergency occurrence. Serious complications, although rare, include pharyngooesophageal perforation, aorto-oesophageal fistula and deep neck infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective review was performed of all cases of foreign body ingestion requiring hospitalization between 1989 and 2011, in a tertiary Hospital. Cases complicated by de...

Multiple foreign body ingestion.

Retropharyngeal abscess revealing a migrant foreign body complicated by mediastinitis: a case report

Pharyngeal foreign bodies are quite common. Their diagnosis is usually easy. The risk of complications including retropharyngeal abscess and mediastinitis is rare and it depends mainly on the nature of the foreign body and the period of the therapeutic management. The occurrence of these complications darkens the prognosis of this affection usually benign. We report a 21 years old patient, with...

Retropharyngeal hematoma mimicking retropharyngeal abscess

Bleeding from retropharyngeal space is relatively rare, and can be life threatening due to its close proximity to the upper airway. We report a case of a 59 year-old Chinese lady who had spontaneous retropharyngeal haematoma following warfarin anticoagulation that resulted in airway obstruction.