Internal iliac artery: embolization to control hemorrhage from pelvic neoplasms.

The control of the massive and often fatal hemorrhage from pelvic neoplasms is a major therapeutic problem. Transcatheter embolization of the internal iliac arteries was performed in 108 patients with uncontrollable hemorrhage due to pelvic neoplasms (urinary bladder in 50, uterus in 39, ovary in 16, and prostate in three). Complete control of the hemorrhage was achieved in 74 patients, partial control in 23, and no control in 11. Seventy patients experienced postembolization syndrome (nausea, vomiting, gluteal pain, and fever due to tissue necrosis), and three had transient acute tubular necrosis caused by the contrast medium. It is important for success that the embolization be bilateral and that the embolic agent used be a permanent one.