Thumbtack use for control of presacral bleeding, with description of an instrument for thumbtack application.

There is well-known difficulty in controlling hemorrhage from presacral vessels. There are reports on the use of thumbtacks to secure hemostasis in the face of presacral hemorrhage. This communication reports the successful use of thumbtacks to establish presacral hemostasis and describes a simple instrument designed to afford easier and more precise anterior sacral application of thumbtacks. The instrument is easy to make. It was devised because of difficulty encountered with manual placement of hemostatic thumbtacks and the absence of totally satisfactory delivery by any of the standard surgical instruments available.