Interventional Radiology for Arterial Hemorrhage after Pancreatic Resection

Abstract

Postoperative hemorrhage is one of the serious complications and one of the most common causes of mortality after pancreatectomy. Three hundred thirty patients after pancreatic resection in our hospital were divided into two groups: the previous period group (197 patients) and the latter period group (133 patients). In the previous group, 14 patients (7.1%) suffered from arterial hemorrhage after the operation. Interventional radiology (IVR) was performed in 10 of them and the success rate was 40%. On the other hand, 4 patients (3%) developed the hemorrhage in the latter period group and all of them had IVR, and the success rate was 100%. Although the rate of postpancreatectomy hemorrhage has been decreasing because of the development of surgical technique and postoperative management, IVR should be the first line treatment for the bleeding. Furthermore, IVR will be most useful for patients at the stage of “Sentinel bleeding”, before massive bleeding and hemodynamic instability occurs.