POSSIBLE PULMONARY-EMBOLISM AFTER EMBOLIZ ATION OF A HEMANGIOMA WITH FIBRIN GLUE

More than 50% of all congenital haemangiomas are located on the head a nd neck. Because most orofacial haemangiomas exhibit the tendency to g row rapidly, they are often treated by embolisation and excision. Case report. The case of a 5-year-old patient is presented, who was admitt ed to the hospital for embolisation and immediate surgery of a haemang ioma of the right side of the face and upper lip. After the injection of 2 ml fibrin glue she suddenly developed hypotension, tachycardia, a low oxygen saturation, and a low end-tidal carbon dioxide partial pre ssure. There was no failure of the breathing circuit and no airway obs truction could be found. Most likely these symptoms were due to transp ort of the fibrin glue from the haemangioma into pulmonary vessels. Th e therapy included the administration of heparin and antihypotensive d rugs. After stabilisation, the patient was transferred to the intensiv e care unit for 1 day without further complications. Conclusion. Pulmo nary embolism after injection of fibrin glue into an orofacial haemang ioma has not previously been reported, but it should be considered tha t systemic complications can occur after injecting substances for embo lisation into vessel-rich tissues.