Summary

Sublingual haematoma, also known as pseudo-Ludwig phenomenon, is an entity commonly described in patients on anticoagulation therapy. Spontaneous sublingual haematoma is a rare subtype. It is thought to be due to aneurismal changes in the facial or lingual arteries, occurring mostly in the elderly hypertensive population. Two case reports of spontaneous sublingual haematomas have been reported so far in the literature. Both cases were elderly patients and presented with a sublingual mass and elevation of the floor of the mouth. One patient was intubated whereas the other underwent an emergency tracheotomy. The authors present the third case of spontaneous sublingual haematoma that was afebrile and had a sudden onset of sore throat that progressed to dyspnoea and required a life-saving tracheotomy. The patient recovered quickly postoperatively and could be discharged home in a couple of days and was decannulated in 1 week. No recurrence of the haematoma was noticed on follow-up after 1 year.