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An aberrant artery as a cause of massive bleeding following adenoidectomy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

J. P. Windfuhr
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Plastic Head and Neck Surgery, St. Anna Hospital, Duisburg, Germany.

Abstract

Bleeding following adenoidectomy is a rare complication of this surgical procedure, and usually occurs in the first post-operative hours. In almost all cases it is related to adenoid remnants. Removal of these remnants under a second general anaesthetic is the treatment of choice. We report a case of massive bleeding three days following adenoidectomy related to the injury of an aberrant ascending pharyngeal artery during adenoidectomy performed elsewhere. Signs of manifest shock necessitated an immediate ligature of the external carotid artery and its individual branches. The post-operative course was uneventful. Two years later the boy underwent tonsillectomy without complications.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited 2002

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