[Mediastinal emphysema extending to the chest, neck and head as complication of a foreign body in the bronchi (author's transl)].

A rare complication of a foreign body in the bronchi system described. It caused emphysema of the Mediastinum entering the chest, neck, and head. The foreign body was stuck in the right main bronchus, and worked as a valve permitting air to enter but not to leave again. Increasing air pressure in the pulmonary alveoli caused their rupture, and escaping of air along the large pulmonary vessels to the mediastinum. From there the emphysema extended to the chest, neck and head through the subcutaneous tissue. All signs of air in the mediastinum and subcutaneous tissues were gone a few days after bronchoscopy and removal of the foreign body.