Abstract
A 35-year-old man presented to the ER Department because of nose pain following a facial trauma 2 days ago, during a sports activity. He also complained of worsening nasal congestion, without nasal discharge or epistaxis. There were no signs of external trauma, haematoma or ecchymosis. He was afebrile and vital signs were within normal limits. Using a nasal speculum, we noticed asymmetry of the septum, with reddish mucosal swelling on the left side. On palpation, the septum felt fluctuant and soft, and the whole procedure was painful for the patient. There were no signs of nasal or maxillary fractures. We also performed a nasal endoscopy with flexible nasendoscope, which was otherwise unremarkable. The diagnosis of septal haematoma, a potential serious complication of facial trauma was confirmed. Under local anesthesia, a mucosal and mucoperichondrial incision with a scalpel was performed. Blood clots were removed and a Penrose drain was placed. Bilateral nasal packing using Merocell was performed. Antibiotics were administered intravenously and the patient was discharged home 3 days later.
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Geronatsios, K. (2021). Septal Haematoma. In: Stavrakas, M., Khalil, H.S. (eds) Rhinology and Anterior Skull Base Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66865-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66865-5_7
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