25th August 2020

A 46-year-old female with a previous diffuse goitre caused by Graves’ disease, has recently undergone a total thyroidectomy

A 46-year-old female with a previous diffuse goitre caused by Graves’ disease, has recently undergone a total thyroidectomy. She returns to the surgical ward and complains of shortness of breath and pain in her neck. There is an overt swelling and ecchymosis in her neck. Her oxygen saturations on 8L/min of oxygen have dropped from 98% to 92% in the last 5 minutes.

For the patient above, please select the SINGLE most important step in their management. Select ONE option from the list above.