Treatment of intractable epistaxis using arterial embolization

Arterial embolization has become the procedure of choice for managing intra ctable epistaxis in certain centres in North America and Europe, with arter ial ligation reserved for those patients in which it fails. In Ireland, the role of this relatively new technique is poorly defined. The aim of this r etrospective study was to investigate the outcome of all patients who under went arterial embolization for intractable epistaxis in Dublin since it was introduced in 1998. Embolization resulted in complete and immediate resolu tion of epistaxis in 10 out of 12 patients (82%). Two patients required car otid ligation because of persistent epistaxis. One other patient had a furt her minor epistaxis 2 days following embolization, which was treated succes sfully with cautery. No major complications occurred in any of the patients . This study suggests that arterial embolization is an effective and safe m ethod of managing patients with intractable epistaxis.