Pulmonary hemorrhagic infarction due to fat embolism and thromboembolism after maxillofacial plastic surgery: a rare case report.

Pulmonary fat embolism (PFE) and pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) are common post-operative complications of orthopedic surgical procedures, but are reported less often following maxillofacial plastic surgical procedures, especially with respect to PFE. Thrombi, or together with fat emboli in pulmonary vessels can induce hemorrhagic infarction and cause death. Herein this report introduced a death due to pulmonary hemorrhagic infarction following maxillofacial plastic surgery. The female patient underwent several osteotomies of the mandible, zygomas and autologous bone grafting within a single operation. The operative time was longer than normal and no preventive strategies for pulmonary embolism were implemented. The patient died 20 days after hospital discharge. The autopsy confirmed pulmonary hemorrhagic infarction. The fat emboli and thrombi were also noted in the pulmonary vessels, which were thought to have resulted from the maxillofacial osteotomy. Suggestions were offered to forensic pathologists that risk factors of PFE and PTE, such as the type and length of surgery, the surgical sites, and the preventive strategies, should be considered when handling deaths after maxillofacial operations.