Angiographic demonstration and transcatheter embolic control of post-traumatic intercostal arterial hemorrhage.

A new method for arresting uncontrollable intercostal hemorrhage is presented. It consists of selective transcatheter embolization of the bleeding artery, either by pieces of gel foam or autologous blood clots. In the patient presented in this paper, the hemorrhage was identified and successfully controlled by embolizing the bleeding artery. Thoracotomy was unnecessary, and there were no complications related to the procedure.