[Iliopsoas hemorrhage in hemophilic children]

Sixty-nine children with hemophilia were treated in our center between 1968 and 1983. About 1 per cent of hemorrhagic complications were bleedings localized in the iliopsoas muscle of 12 patients ranging in age from 9 to 15 years. The typical sign of the bleeding is a tight, palpable tumour above the inguinal fold. Today mass bleedings of the muscle with retroperitoneal localization are diagnosed safely by help of computer tomography or sonography. Psoas muscle bleedings in children are characterized by a high recurrence rate (41.5%) and often by an associated damage of the femoral nerve. Surgery was necessary only in 1 patient where a huge psoas hematoma with cystic transformations had to be removed. High substitution doses led to a complete recovery within 3 weeks in all other children.