[Life threatening hemorrhage in emergency otorhinolaryngological care]

The authors report 6 cases of life threatening hemorrhage which occurred in 1985-1995. The cases were characterized by massive recurrent bleeding resistant to standard conservative methods of stopping. In a posttonsillectomy patient bleeding from the tonsillar niche and in two patients nasal bleeding because of trauma or tumor were stopped only after ligation of the external carotid artery. Arrosive bleeding from the internal jugular vein in a patient after opening of a deep tonsillogenic neck flegmon was stopped by ligation of the jugular vein along the length of the wound. Bleeding after opening of a paratonsillar abscess was stopped after abscess tonsillectomy. Bleeding from tracheostoma was stopped only after suturing of the vessel in the wound. All the 6 patients were discharged in a satisfactory condition.