Síndrome de Tapia posterior a cirugía nasal

Resumen El síndrome de Tapia es una complicación poco frecuente secundaria a la manipulación de la vía aérea. Se caracteriza por haber una lesión concomitante de los pareas craneales X (nervio vago) y XII (nervio hipogloso), usualmente por compresión o sobredistensión de estos. Inicialmente puede hacernos sospechar una lesión central, al haber compromiso de dos nervios craneales bajos en forma simultánea, pero la gran mayoría de los casos descritos son lesiones periféricas. De los procedimientos asociados a esta complicación, los que lideran en frecuencia son los de cabeza y cuello, por lo que es de gran importancia tenerlo en conocimiento en el desarrollo de nuestra práctica clínica. Nuestro paciente presentó esta complicación tras una septoplastía con turbinectomía sin complicaciones en el sitio operatorio, ni anestésicas. Se manejó con fonoaudiología y corticoides orales, con recuperación completa a los cuatro meses de posoperatorio.

Abstract Tapia's Syndrome is a rare complication secondary to airway manipulation. It is characterized by a concurrent lesion of cranial nerve pairs X (vagus nerve) and XII (hypoglossal nerve), usually attributed to compression or stretching of these nerves. Initially, it may lead us to suspect a central lesion, as there is simultaneous involvement of two low cranial nerves, but the vast majority of cases described are peripheral lesions. The procedures most frequently associated with this complication are head and neck surgery, which is why it is very important to bear this in mind in the development of our clinical practice. Our patient showed Tapia's syndrome following septoplasty with turbinectomy without complications in the operative site nor under anesthesia. He was treated with phoniatric and oral corticoids, recovering completely four months after surgery.

Tapia's Syndrome after Posterior Cervical Spine Surgery under General Anesthesia

We present a case report to remind surgeons of this unusual complication that can occur in any surgery, even posterior cervical spine surgery under general anesthesia and discuss its causes, treatment methods, and the follow-up results in the literature. The peripheral Tapia's syndrome is a rare complication of anesthetic airway management. Main symptoms are hoarseness of voice and difficulty of tongue movement. Tapia's syndrome after endotracheal general anesthesia is believed to be due to pressure neuropathy of the vagus nerve and the hypoglossal nerve caused by the endotracheal tube. To our knowledge, no report has been published or given an explanation for Tapia's syndrome after posterior cervical spine surgery. Two patients who underwent posterior cervical surgery complained hoarseness and tongue palsy postoperatively. There is no direct anatomical relation between the operation, the vagus nerves and the hypoglossal nerves, and there is no record of displacement or malposition of the endotracheal tube. After several months, all symptoms are resolved. To avoid this problem in posterior cervical spine surgery, we suggest paying special attention to the position of the endotracheal tube to avoid excessive neck flexion before and during the positioning of the patient.

Tapia Syndrome after Cervical Spine Surgery

Tapia syndrome is a rare entity characterized by unilateral paralysis of the tongue and vocal cord caused by Xth and XIIth cranial nerve lesions. However, there has been no report of Tapia syndrome immediately following spine surgery. A 47-year-old man underwent posterior decompressive laminectomy for cervical stenosis. The surgery took about 117 minutes and it was uneventful. Postoperatively he developed hoarseness of voice during speech, with deviation of tongue protrusion. On laryngoscopic examination, paralysis of the left side of the tongue and the soft palate was found and complete palsy of the left vocal cord was noted. After excluding surgical cause and craniocervical lesion, a clinical diagnosis of Tapia syndrome was made. Here we report a rare case of Tapia syndrome developed after posterior approach for cervical spine surgery and discuss the possible mechanisms of this uncommon syndrome.

Tapia's syndrome following cervical laminoplasty: A case report / 대한마취과학회지

Tapia's syndrome is the palsy of the 10th and 12th cranial nerves, resulting in ipsilateral paralysis of the vocal cord and tongue. It is a rare complication which is related to the anesthetic airway management and positioning of the patient's head during the surgery. We describe a patient with a postoperative unilateral Tapia's syndrome, after general anesthesia, with uncomplicated endotracheal intubation. The patient's symptoms improved gradually for three months.

A Case of Bilateral Peripheral Tapia's Syndrome Subsequent to Coronary Artery Bypass Graft / 대한이비인후과학회지

The Tapia's syndrome means symptom complex that result from unilateral vago-hypoglossal nerve paralysis. This syndrome is rare disease entity, bilateral attack is extremely rare. Only three cases have been reported in English literature. A-66-year-old man received the coronary artery bypass graft in our hospital. After the operation, he complained of severe dyspnea, voice change and drooling. The laryngoscopic findings showed the bilateral vocal cord palsy. He could not move the tongue toward any directions. We diagnosed as bilateral Tapia's syndrome. Usually, unilateral Tapia's syndrome is related to the complications of anesthesia and position of the patient's head during surgery. Otherwise, our case may be associated with the complications of operation and anesthesia. The patient's recovered three months later, but the right vocal cord palsy is persistent. We report the very unique disease entity with literature review.