Surgical treatment of posttraumatic subgaleal emphysema: literature review and clinical observation

Subgaleal emphysema is a rare pathology characterized by intense air flow under the aponeurosis, separating it from the skull. The first publications describing this pathological process date back to the early 80s of the last century. The pathogenesis of the disease remains controversial to this day. The most likely pathomorphological basis for the formation of subgaleal emphysema is a focus of bone destruction of the air-bearing bones of the skull of a traumatic, inflammatory or tumor nature, the latter is described as cystic angiomatosis.Cases of subgaleal emphysema formation due to pneumomediastinum have been described. In this study, we report a rare clinical case of successful surgical treatment of widespread post-traumatic subgaleal emphysema in a 24-year-old man in the V. I. Voynov Orenburg Regional Clinical Hospital.