Surgical Excision of Unusual Sacked Neck and Mediastinum Abscess of Odontogenic Origin

Abstract

The most common cause of neck infections is odontogenic abscesses that can often be life-threatening and require a surgical drain associated with antibiotic therapy. We present a case of the surgical management of an odontogenic sack-shaped and walled abscess arising from elements 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8 that reached the laterocervical spaces and anterior mediastinum in a 28-year-old healthy woman. Typical signs and symptoms of cervical complications of dental origin are fever, a neck mass, lymphadenopathy, trismus and odynophagia. The gold standard treatment in these situations is a multidisciplinary approach involving an oral surgeon, ENT specialist and thoracic surgeon to drain the infected material. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first described case report of a dental abscess enclosed in a sack in the deep space of the neck and in the anterior space of the mediastinum.

Keywords

• abscess
• odontogenic infection
• surgical drain
• tracheostomy