DEATH FOLLOWING RETROGRADE INSUFFLATION O F THE EUSTACHIAN-TUBE

This case report describes a lethal complication of retrograde air ins ufflation through the Eustachian tube after myringotomy. A 35-year-old woman presented with otalgia and hearing loss in her left ear, which had occurred after an upper respiratory infection. Otoscopy showed a m iddle ear effusion. A myringotomy was performed under mask anesthesia in a private clinic. During subsequent retrograde Eustachian tube insu fflation, the patient experienced sudden convulsions, followed by card iac and respiratory arrest. The patient then died some hours later fro m generalized cardiac and circulation break-down in the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital. The cause of the cardiac and circulation c ollapse could not be defined completely, but it is believed than an an atomical variant of the tegmen tympani was responsible for the tragic outcome because of an air embolus.