Life-threatening airway obstruction after flapless implant placement in the anterior mandible

ABSTRACT

This paper reports a patient who had an airway obstruction caused by a hemorrhage of the mouth floor that occurred after she underwent flapless implantation in the region of the mandibular anterior teeth. The hemorrhage may have been caused by iatrogenic malpositioned fixture and patient's hypertension. The lingual periosteum was not dissected during the flapless procedure. Therefore, when hemorrhage occurred, the blood did not drain easily into the oral cavity but instead drained into the deep neck region, which might have been the cause of the airway obstruction.