Life-threatening haemorrhage after elevation of a fractured zygoma.

A 21-year-old man presented with a fractured left zygoma after an alleged assault. The fracture was elevated four days later, at which time he had a brisk left-sided epistaxis. Recovery was uneventful except for a haematoma that was drained a month later. Two weeks after this, he was admitted after having collapsed. He was shocked and bleeding profusely from his nose. He had a further major bleed in hospital and this was treated by tying off the left external carotid artery. He has made an uneventful recovery and investigations have shown no bleeding diathesis.