TRAUMATIC INTRAPELVIC RETROPERITONEAL HEMORRHAGE - AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

In intrapelvic retroperitoneal hemorrhage caused by a fractured pelvis, there is little information with regard to the site of bleeding. Present methods of management of the hemorrhage were discussed, including massive blood replacement, direct and indirect control of the bleeding site, and use of the G suit. An experimental study was presented in which the effect of arterial ligation of the internal iliac arteries and their collateral communications on the venous pressure, measured in the internal iliac vein, was noted. A similar experiment using the G suit was described. It was shown that the former did not produce a fall in pressure, and the latter produced a rise. In view of the dissatisfaction with current modes of management, it was suggested that more positive approaches be made, namely, to define precisely the source of the bleeding at definitive autopsies and to employ arteriography and venography to locate lesions of the large arterial and venous trunks. © 1969.