Four different airway-management strategies in patient with Launois-Bensaude syndrome or Madelung's disease undergoing surgical excision of neck lipomatosis with a complicated postoperative course

Launois-Bensaude syndrome, otherwise known as Madelung's disease, is a rare disorder characterized by fatty accumulations of the upper trunk, neck and head, causing serious cosmetic deformity and neck immobility. We report a case of a patient with Launois-Bensaude syndrome who required 4 different airway management strategies during his hospitalization for postoperative complications after an elective surgical excision of a severe neck lipomatosis. Anesthesiologists who treat patients with Madelung's disease should be aware of 2 major problems: difficult airway and increased frequency of postoperative bleeding. A proper choice of airway management technique is therefore necessary, including a safe intubation and extubation plan to reduce the consequences of airway complications.