[Emergency hepatic arterial embolization in the management of hemobilia].

We present 5 patients with hemobilia treated successfully by emergency transcatheter hepatic artery embolization (TAE). All patients had severe associated illnesses and were very poor candidates for operative treatment. In 3 patients, hemorrhage was completely controlled by TAE using sponge alone, however in 2 patients with hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm, additional TAE using coil was necessary for hemostasis. No major complication was encountered after TAE. Since angiography can offer both diagnostic and therapeutic benefits, we feel that angiography should be considered for exact localization of hemobilia and possible transcatheter therapeutic embolization for control.