Haemostatic embolisation (stopping severe bleeding)

Some types of bleeding are hard to control with usual measures: bleeding after childbirth, after an injury, from the digestive tract, from the lungs (coughing up blood), from the kidney or after a procedure. Haemostatic embolisation involves finding the bleeding artery with arteriography, then blocking it from the inside to stop the haemorrhage. The procedure is performed in the catheterisation laboratory, most often as an emergency, under local or general anaesthesia depending on the patient's condition. A catheter is introduced through the groin or wrist and guided to the artery concerned. Depending on the situation, particles, small metal coils, glue or a temporary plugging agent are used. This technique often avoids major surgery or allows an organ to be preserved, for example the uterus after childbirth. It is part of coordinated emergency care involving emergency physicians, intensive care specialists, surgeons and interventional physicians. At Clinique Pasteur Tunis, the close links between the emergency department, intensive care, the operating theatre and the latest-generation catheterisation laboratory make it possible to organise this procedure quickly.