Difficult airway in a patient with lymphoma. A case report

A 86-year-old male patient, diagnosed with lymphoma, was scheduled for a submaxillectomy to choose his best chemotherapy treatment. He referred recent voice changes and laterocervical adenopathies without respiratory symptoms. There were no additional risk predictors in preoperative airway assessment. Following anaesthesic induction, an upper airway obstruction occurred. After that, an unexpected difficult airway was encountered. Both clinical situations resulted in unpredicted difficult airway management. Image tests seen after the procedure revealed a severe narrowing of parapharyngeal space due to Waldeyer's ring hypertrophy. This medical condition had remained unnoticed in preoperative assessment. Advanced lymphoproliferative syndromes cause disseminated adenopathies whose parapharyngeal involvement can lead to a difficult airway even in the absence of preoperative risk predictors.