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Sir, The possible causes for acute postoperative neck swelling include jugular vein compression, jugular vein thrombosis or superficial vein thrombosis. We report a case of acute sialadenitis resulting in immediate postoperative neck swelling and airway obstruction in a patient operated for a vestibular schwannoma in the semi-sitting position.

A 41-year-old male was taken up for surgery for left vestibular schwannoma in a semi-sitting position with the head flexed and turned 20 degrees to the left side. After the tumor excision he was extubated and shifted to ICU for monitoring. Four hours later he developed a swelling in the right submandibular region that progressed rapidly over the next two hours to involve the right side of the face and supraclavicular area [Figure 1]. There was no crepitus or skin rash. There was no respiratory embarrassment at this point of time. Oral examination ruled out the possibility of Ludwig’s …