Damage control surgery in patient with delayed rupture of pseudoaneurysm after blunt abdominal trauma

Delayed rupture of post-traumatic pseudoaneurysms of the visceral arteries, especially the pancreaticoduodenal artery, is uncommon. Here, we describe a 55-year-old man hemorrhaging from a pseudoaneurysm of the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery (IPDA). Computed tomography of the abdomen showed active bleeding in the IPDA and large amounts of hemoperitoneum and hemoretroperitoneum. Selective mesenteric angiography showed that the pseudoaneurysm arose from the IPDA, and treatment by angioembolization failed because the involved artery was too tortuous to fit with a catheter. Damage control surgery with surgical ligation and pad packing was successfully performed. The patient had an uncomplicated postoperative course and was discharged 19 days after the operation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of ruptured pseudoaneurysm of an IPDA after blunt abdominal trauma from Korea.