title: A patient with intraoral fire during tonsillectomy.
abstract: Perioperative fires inside the mouth can have long-lasting sequelae. They are potentially dangerous both to the patient and to the operation room staff as well. Herein, we present a flash fire in the oropharynx, secondary to electrosurgery during a tonsillectomy operation in a young child. Despite a potentially devastating situation, the patient recovered well within just a week following intraoral burn injuries, and the initially interrupted tonsillectomy operation was completed without complications. The dangerous situations leading to fire hazards and the prevention measures are discussed.
authors.affiliation: From the *Helsinki Burn Centre, Department of Plastic Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki; †Department of Otorhinolaryngology Päijät-Häme Central Hospital, Lahti; and ‡Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Esa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Partanen
authors.forename: Virve
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Koljonen
authors.forename: Aarre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salonen
authors.forename: Leif J J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Bäck
authors.forename: Jyrki
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vuola
mesh_terms: D002056:Burns / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D004564:Electrocoagulation / Q000009:adverse effects; D004598:Electrosurgery / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005390:Fires / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000293:injuries*; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000379:methods*