• Hugo Eckener Dantas de Pereira Cardoso, Durval Campos Kraychete, José A Lima Filho, Luciano S Garrido, and Anita Perpétua Carvalho Rocha.
• Clinica de Anestesia de Salvador, BA, Brazil. heckener@uol.com.br
• Rev Bras Anestesiol. 2007 Aug 1; 57 (4): 410-3.

Background And ObjectivesThe laryngeal mask has been frequently used in Anesthesiology. Although the rate of complications with this technique is smaller than that of the endotracheal tube, it is not devoid of risks, especially in cases of difficult airways. The objective of this study was to report a case of unilateral lingual nerve damage after the use of the laryngeal mask airway.Case ReportA female patient underwent a surgical procedure for removal of bilateral breast prosthesis under general, balanced anesthesia, with a size three laryngeal mask. The balloon was inflated with 30 mL of air. After the first postoperative hour, she developed decreased sensation and pain in the oropharynx and posterior two thirds of the tongue, which evolved for loss of taste in the next 24 hours. A tentative diagnosis of lingual nerve neuropraxis secondary to the use of the laryngeal mask was made. After three weeks, her symptoms subsided.ConclusionAlthough complications after the use of the laryngeal mask airway are rare, they do occur, and neuropraxis of the lingual nerve is one of them. The diagnosis is clinical and it has a good outcome, with resolution of the symptoms within a few weeks or months.

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