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Case Reports
. 2010 Jan;75(1):88-91.

Facial artery pseudoaneurysm and severe bleeding after tonsillectomy - endovascular treatment with PVA particle embolization

Robert Juszkat  1 , Aleksandra Korytowska, Zofia Lukomska, Anna Zarzecka
Affiliations
Case Reports

Facial artery pseudoaneurysm and severe bleeding after tonsillectomy - endovascular treatment with PVA particle embolization

Robert Juszkat et al. Pol J Radiol. 2010 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Tonsillectomy is one of the most common procedures performed in ENT departments. The most common complication is a haemorrhage, which incidence is estimated at 3-3.9% of all procedures.

Case report: We present the case of a 32-year-old female with severe bleeding 11 and 23 days after tonsillectomy. An angiography revealed a pseudoaneurysm of the facial artery (FA), a 5 mm in diameter, at the level of tonsillar artery takeoff. The FA was embolized with 500-μm particles of PVA. The procedure was successful. The patient did not experience further bleeding.

Conclusions: In rare cases post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage may be caused by the pseudoaneurysm of the facial artery. The endovascular embolization of this condition proved to be a valuable treatment method. It is a safe and permanent treatment option in this potentially life-threatening complication.

Keywords: PVA embolization; pseudoaneurysm; tonsillectomy.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Selective angiography of the left common carotid artery (A) and the facial artery (B). Pseudoaneurysm of the facial artery at the level of the tonsillar branch takeoff.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
DSA. Selective angiography of the left common carotid artery after complete embolization of the facial artery with PVA particle.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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