Sudden death after major head and neck surgery.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review will discuss the mortality after major ear, nose and throat surgery, particularly sudden death. It will also discuss the postoperative follow-up of patients.

RECENT FINDINGS: Sudden death is a rare event after major ear, nose and throat surgery, and occurs mainly during the first three postoperative days.

SUMMARY: In more recent studies, the mortality rate after neck dissection was below 4%, which is at a lower value than reported in previous studies. Sudden deaths have been described, however, mainly during the first three postoperative days. Alcoholism and perioperative hypotension are two predictive factors for cardiac complications. Careful follow-up of these patients during the early postoperative period should be performed to reduce the mortality by shortening the delay of care.