2022 Volume 72 Issue 4 Pages 403-406
A patient in his forties, who was immobile because of severe pain, visited our emergency room. He had fallen from a height of 3 meters and landed on his right back. Enhanced CT revealed multiple fractures of the right transverse processes (l2, 3, 4) and spinous processes (L3, 4, 5). Hematomas were also noted in the right iliopsoas muscle, erector spinae muscle, subcutaneous on the back, and retroperitoneal space. Active bleeding was not detected； therefore, we did not perform angiography. We opted for conservative therapy, and the patient was uneventfully discharged after 17 days. Transverse process fracture with retroperitoneal hematoma is very rare and may involve injury to the lumbar vessels, which can lead to hemorrhagic shock. This case report emphasizes the need to evaluate vascular injury in such trauma cases.
