[Acute Tongue Swelling Immediately after Extubation of the Trachea in a Patient Undergoing Bipolar Hip Arthroplasty under General Anesthesia].

An 81-year-old woman underwent bipolar hip arthroplasty in the left lateral position under general anesthesia. Her trachea was intubated with a standard tube and a rolled gauze pad was placed between the left lingual margin and buccal wall. Surgery lasting for 49 minutes and anesthesia were uneventful until extubation in the supine position. After the extubation she gradually developed tongue swelling and finally required a temporary supraglottic airway to avoid airway obstruction. The swelling was localized to the tongue and disappeared completely in a day. There were no specific factors for tongue swelling except for the tracheal tube and gauze pad in this case. Airway management with a tracheal tube may potentially cause acute life-threatening tongue swelling after surgery of a relatively short duration.