Transcatheter gelfoam embolization in abdominal, retroperitoneal, and pelvic hemorrhage.

Clinical experience with Gelfoam embolization for arterial hemorrhage in 55 patients is described. This technique controlled hemorrhage in 51 patients (92.7%). Two patients (3.6%) died of complications related to embolization. Gelfoam can be a permanent occluding agent which does not require subselective catheter position for effectiveness and safety. The advantages of Gelfoam are its availability, low cost, the ease and speed with which it can be applied through conventional catheters, and its safety and effectiveness if properly applied. The data presented here, and those in the literature, indicate that transcatheter therapeutic embolization for arterial bleeding below the diaphragm is by far the safest and most effective method available.