Transarterial endovascular coil embolization in managing intractable bleeding from fibular artery: A case report

Introduction: Pseudoaneurysms of the fibular artery are rare. Recently, endovascular techniques have been preferred over open surgery. Case presentation: A 50-year-old male patient complained of recurrent bleeding from surgical wounds that had been present for one month. The patient sustained an open cruris fracture. No source of active bleeding was found at the time of exploration. The patient has then performed angiography with coiling and showed a pseudoaneurysm originating from the left fibular artery branch. Surgical debridement and external fixation were performed one day after the angiography and embolization procedure. The patient was discharged on the third day, and there has been no recurrent bleeding ever since. Case discussion: A pseudoaneurysm can be thought of as one of the intractable bleeding causes. Recently, the endovascular technique has been commonly used as an alternative treatment if we did not find the source of bleeding in exploration. Many kinds of the literature showed the success of using non-surgical management, especially the coil embolization as the patient received. Conclusion: In the management of pseudoaneurysm following trauma which cannot be found in open surgery, an endovascular technique like coil embolization can be the alternative method.