Gluteal muscle necrosis following transcatheter angiographic embolisation for retroperitoneal haemorrhage associated with pelvic fracture

Transcatheter angiographic emobilisation has been used as an effective control of haemorrhage associated with pelvic fracture. Although few complications of this procedure have been reported, gluteal muscle necrosis occurs occasionally. We assessed the type of pelvic fracture, concomitant injury, embolic site, embolic materials, and outcome in cases of gluteal muscle necrosis associated with angiographic embolisation for pelvic fracture-related haemorrhage, and investigated the factors associated with the development of gluteal muscle necrosis, one of the fatal complications of transcatheter angiographic embolisation. Five out of the 151 patients (incidence, 3.3%) who underwent transcatheter angiographic embolisation for haemorrhagic shock due to pelvic fracture developed gluteal muscle necrosis after embolisation. The five cases had injury severity scores ranging from 26 to 59 (mean 46.4). Three patients died (mortality, 60%) of subsequent sepsis and disseminated intravascular coagulation. These cases showed that transcatheter angiographic embolisation with gelatin sponge and/or steel coil, while effectively controlling bleeding, may also result in gluteal muscle necrosis. Aggressive management including intraarterial antibiotic treatment may have a role, but our numbers are too small to confirm this. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.