Tapia syndrome post nasal surgery

Abstract

Tapia’s Syndrome is a rare complication secondary to airway manipulation. It is charac- terized by a concurrent lesion of cranial nerve pairs X (vagus nerve) and XII (hypoglossal nerve), usually attributed to compression or stretching of these nerves. Initially, it may lead us to suspect a central lesion, as there is simultaneous involvement of two low cranial nerves, but the vast majority of cases described are peripheral lesions. The procedures most frequently associated with this complication are head and neck surgery, which is why it is very important to bear this in mind in the development of our clinical practice. Our patient showed Tapia’s syndrome following septoplasty with turbinectomy without complications in the operative site nor under anesthesia. He was treated with phoniatric and oral corti- coids, recovering completely four months after surgery.