[Swelling of the tongue after intraoperative monitoring by transesophageal echocardiography].

Tongue swelling after surgery is a rare but potentially lethal postoperative complication. This is a case report of a 62-yr-old patient who developed tongue swelling after intraoperative monitoring by transesophageal echocardiography. The patient underwent replacement of the descending aorta with an interposition graft under cardiopulmonary bypass. A transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) probe was inserted after the induction of general anesthesia. Surgery and anesthesia were uneventful. After the surgical procedure, the TEE probe was removed. At that time, marked swelling of the tongue was noted. However, there was no diffuse edema in the neck, face, supraglottic structures or the larynx. The tongue swelling was thought to have been caused by local mechanical compression of the tongue with the TEE probe. The tongue returned to normal size the next day. Care should be taken to prevent the occurrence of this complication during and after TEE examination under general anesthesia.