• E Foley, T E D Mc Dermott, E Shanahan, and D Phelan.
• Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Mater Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. edfoley@eircom.net
• Ir J Med Sci. 2010 Jun 1;179(2):297-300.

BackgroundTransient, isolated lingual nerve neuropraxia is a rare complication following general anaesthesia. Reports implicate airway manipulation and we describe two new cases associated with laryngeal mask airway (LMA) and review the related English language literature.ResultsUnilateral numbness and loss of taste on the anterior tongue were the characteristic symptoms. Collation of literature data (median and range) with that from the new cases showed: patient age was 38 (20-61) years and female to male ratio was 1.2:1. Surgery time was 62.5 (20-150) min and symptom duration was 28 (7-120) days.ConclusionLingual neuropraxias reported have been transient and patients can be advised, despite disturbing symptoms, that recovery is anticipated in about 1 month. Lingual neuropraxia reports are becoming more frequent, perhaps associated with increasing LMA use. Research is recommended as modification to LMA cuff volume, pressure and/or position within the oral cavity might ameliorate the entity.

34 keywords...

hide…