Frey's syndrome after elective thyroidectomy: a case report

This case report documents the case of a 41-year-old Caucasian woman who developed a Frey's syndrome after elective thyroidectomy. This patient developed a sudden redness on one side of the face in the recovery room after a total thyroidectomy under general anaesthesia. All other vital signs of the patient remained normal. There were no signs of infection. After a few hours the symptoms disappeared without any treatment. Frey's syndrome is a disorder characterised by unilateral flushing or sweating of the facial skin. This syndrome can occur after parotidectomy or after trauma, injury or inflammation of the parotid, the submandibular glands, or of cervical and thoracic parts of the sympathetic trunk. Frey's syndrome normally results from aberrant regeneration of auriculotemporal nerve fibers to sweat glands in the skin. This case describes a self-limiting Frey' s syndrome after irritation of the cervical portion of the truncus sympathicus following total thyroidectomy.