Partanen Esa, Koljonen Virve, Salonen Aarre, Bäck Leif J J, Vuola Jyrki
From the *Helsinki Burn Centre, Department of Plastic Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki; †Department of Otorhinolaryngology Päijät-Häme Central Hospital, Lahti; and ‡Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
J Craniofac Surg. 2014 Sep;25(5):1822-4. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000001036.
Perioperative fires inside the mouth can have long-lasting sequelae. They are potentially dangerous both to the patient and to the operation room staff as well. Herein, we present a flash fire in the oropharynx, secondary to electrosurgery during a tonsillectomy operation in a young child. Despite a potentially devastating situation, the patient recovered well within just a week following intraoral burn injuries, and the initially interrupted tonsillectomy operation was completed without complications. The dangerous situations leading to fire hazards and the prevention measures are discussed.
