Pulmonary embolism following tonsillectomy

Acute post-operative pulmonary embolism is a serious potentially life-threa tening complication which is not anticipated in young patients undergoing n on-major surgery. We report a case in which a 32-year-old previously health y woman developed a major pulmonary embolism following tonsillectomy. Subse quent investigations revealed the presence of an occult malignancy. This ca se highlights the role of paraneoplastic hypercoagulable states in the aeti ology of venous thromboembolism and the importance of thromboprophylaxis in the presence of confirmed or suspected malignancy. To our knowlege no case of major pulmonary embolism occurring after tonsillectomy has been previou sly reported.