A 48-year-old man underwent surgical procedures including a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and pancreatic necrosectomy which caused flushing in half of his face. Also known as hemifacial flushing, the condition was noted 4 hours after general anesthesia was induced. A central venous catheter was inserted into the left jugular vein of the patient without the use of local anesthetic infiltration under unltrasonographic guidance.
The patient was examined for Horner’s syndrome and Harlequin’s syndromes. However, no additional findings were identified that were suggestive of the two syndromes. It was further concluded that the flushing was probably because of an obstruction in venous blood flow by a thrombus that may have surrounded the central venous catheter. The suggestive reason behind the hemifacial flushing was confirmed with bedside ultrasonography.
The hemifacial flushing resolved promptly after removal of the central venous catheter.
References
Keogh, P., & Wood, J. (2013). Hemifacial Flushing. New England Journal of Medicine, 368(4), 374-374.
