What is Embolization for Internal Bleeding?
Different accidents can cause different injuries like broken bones, damage to organs, and bleeding. When the bleeding happens inside the body, it is called “internal bleeding.” Small internal bleeding may heal on its own. Large internal bleeding can be life-threatening.
Embolization is a minimally invasive procedure to stop internal bleeding by blocking the bleeding blood vessel with special material.
How is Embolization for Internal Bleeding done?
You may be given medicine to help you relax or you may be put to sleep. The clinician will clean and numb the skin on the wrist or upper thigh. They will thread a tiny tube through a pinhole in the skin into a blood vessel. They will use x-rays and dye to find the bleeding blood vessel(s) and guide the tube to that area.
They will inject special material through the tube to block off the blood vessel and stop the bleeding. Common materials include a slurry called gelfoam, tiny beads, metallic coils or plugs, or medical grade super glue. What they choose to use depends on which vessel is bleeding and why. They will remove the tube and put a bandage over the pinhole where the tube entered the skin.
Embolization for Internal Bleeding
1. After numbing the skin, the clinician threads a small tube into the blood vessel at the top of the thigh (shown) or wrist.
2. Using x-rays, the clinician guides the tube to the artery that is bleeding and injects special material to stop the bleeding.
3. After, the clinician removes the tube and places a bandage over the pinhole in the skin.
What are the risks?
Embolization for internal bleeding is generally a safe procedure when done by a specialist.
6-9 in 100 people may experience
damage to healthy tissue around the site of bleeding that can lead to infection or poor wound healing
bleeding
damage to the blood vessels
For 3-10 in 100 people, embolization does not stop the bleeding.
What are the alternatives?
Your treatment options depend upon the types of injuries and the location of internal bleeding, as well as your preferences and other health conditions.
Alternative 1 No procedure. Some internal bleeding can heal on its own. Blood transfusions can replace lost blood while the body is healing. However, some bleeding is so severe that it can be life-threatening without an intervention.
Alternative 2 Surgery to stop the bleeding by tying off the bleeding vessels or removing the bleeding tissue or organ. Surgery is sometimes used with embolization to treat multiple injuries after an accident.