Diagnosis and treatment of expanding haematoma of the lateral abdominal wall after blunt abdominal trauma

We report a rare case of an expanding posttraumatic lateral abdominal wall haematoma. A superselective arteriogram of the deep circumflex iliac artery showed extravasation from the ascending branch, urging emergency therapy. Microcoil and Gelfoam embolisation was successfully performed. Haematomas o f the abdominal wall can be divided in the common rectus sheath haematomas and the rare haematomas of the lateral abdominal wall. Differentiating both entities is essential, since there is a strong difference in their vascula r supply. The typical vascular supply of the lateral abdominal wall is disc ussed, with emphasis on the ascending branch of the deep circumflex iliac a rtery.