VALUE OF PREOPERATIVE EMBOLIZATION IN SURGERY FOR NASOPHARYNGEAL ANGIOFIBROMA

The value of embolization in surgery for nasopharyngeal angiofibroma i s a controversial matter. We analysed retrospectively the results of s urgical treatment in ten patients with a nasopharyngeal angiofibroma, the last five of whom underwent pre-operative embolization with Gelfoa m(R). Embolization reduced the intraoperative blood loss at primary su rgery from an average of 1510 ml in the non-embolized patients to 510 ml in the embolized patients and transfusions from an average of 4.4 u nits to none. Seven reoperations were performed on four non-embolized patients on account of tumour recurrence, while no recurrences were di agnosed among the pre-operatively embolized patients. Blood loss in th e reoperations averaged 4065 ml, and transfusions 7.1 units. The resul ts indicate that embolization is effective in reducing intraoperative blood loss and contributes to improved surgical results. We recommend it as a routine pre-operative adjunct to surgery for nasopharyngeal an giofibroma.