Diagnosis and control of posttraumatic pelvic hemorrhage. Transcatheter angiographic embolization techniques
A. E. Yellin, C. J. Lundell and E. J. Finck
Fourteen patients with posttraumatic pelvic hemorrhage underwent
therapeutic transcatheter embolization of bleeding vessels. Six of them
were victims of blunt trauma, six had penetrating trauma, and two had
iatrogenic hemorrhage. Eleven patients had a celiotomy prior to
angiographic embolization, and large retroperitoneal hematomas were evident
in nine patients. Bleeding persisted postoperatively. It was initially
controlled by embolization in all patients, but two rebled and were
successfully reembolized. Two patients died because of traumatic injuries.
There were no complications directly associated with the embolization
procedures. Transcatheter embolization is a safe, effective method for
controlling pelvic hemorrhage in patients with unstable or multiple pelvic
fractures whose conditions fail to respond to more conventional forms of
therapy.