Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation syndrome - ENT surgeon's perspective

ENT surgeon is seldom confronted with a systemic disease severe enough to progress to Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation syndrome (DIC), where he has to undertake a definitive surgical procedure for malignancy or perform an emergency tracheostomy. This calls for a judicious calculation of the pros and cons with an element of risk that needs to be accepted. We report two such patients who have been treated in such a scenario where the outcome varied depending on the severity and time of onset of the underlying coagulation disorder.