Endoscopic Sphenopalatine Artery Ligation in Posterior Epistaxis: Retrospective Analysis of 30 Patients

Posterior epistaxis management: review of the literature and proposed guidelines of the hellenic rhinological-facial plastic surgery society

PURPOSE

Posterior epistaxis is a common emergency in ENT practice varying in severity and treatment. Many management guidelines have been proposed, all of which are a product of retrospective analyses due to the nature of this pathology, as large-scale double-blind studies are impossible-even unethical-to conduct. The purpose of this review is to perform a thorough analysis and comparison of every treatment plan available and establish guidelines for the best possible outcome in accordance to every parameter studied. Given the extensive heterogeneity of information and the multitude of studies on this topic, along with the comparison of various treatment options, we opted for a literature review as our research approach.

METHODS

A review of the literature was performed using PubMed Database and search terms included "posterior epistaxis", "treatment", "management", "guidelines", "algorithm" "nasal packing", "posterior packing", "surgery", "SPA ligation", "embolization", "risk factors" or a combination of the above.

RESULTS

Initial patients' assessment invariably results in most cases in posterior packing. There seems to be a superiority in recent literature of early surgery over nasal packing as a definitive treatment. Embolization is usually used after surgery failure, except for specific occasions.

CONCLUSION

Despite the vast heterogeneity of information, there seems to be a need for re-evaluation of the well-established treatment plans according to more recent studies.

Endoscopic Sphenopalatine Artery Cauterization in the Management of Recurrent Posterior Epistaxis

Background and Objectives: Endoscopic sphenopalatine artery cauterization (ESPAC) has become a reliable and effective surgical procedure for managing posterior epistaxis. The objectives of our study were to evaluate the effectiveness of ESPAC in the management of posterior epistaxis and the possible factors that lead to the failure of the procedure. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent ESPAC between 2018 and 2022. We retrospectively reviewed the demographic data, patients' co-morbidities, medical treatment conditions, whether other surgical procedures were performed in addition to the ESPAC, and the success rate of ESPAC. Results: 28 patients were included in our study. After ESPAC, epistaxis was successfully managed in 25 patients (89.28%). Of all patients undergoing ESPAC, three (10.7%) presented re-bleeding. In two patients, we performed an endoscopic revision surgery with re-cauterization of the sphenopalatine foramen area, together with anterior and posterior ethmoidectomy, followed by fat occlusion/obliteration of these sinuses. In one patient, fat obliteration of the anterior and posterior ethmoid was also unsuccessful, and we performed an external carotid artery ligation at the level of the neck with no recurrence afterwards. Conclusions: Endoscopic cauterization of the sphenopalatine artery remains a safe, effective, and reliable surgical procedure in the management of recurrent posterior epistaxis. The use of anticoagulant drugs and the association of hypertension and other heart and liver diseases do not materialize as factors influencing surgical failure.

Trans-nasal Endoscopic Sphenopalatine Artery Ligation in Epistaxis: Coblation Versus Electrocauterization

Epistaxis is one of the most common emergencies encountered by otorhinolaryngologist. Although anterior epistaxis is easy to manage but posterior epistaxis is usually refractory. Transnasal endoscopic sphenopalatine artery ligation (TESPAL) is now a well established surgical technique for the management of refractory epistaxis. Electrocauterization and clipping are the most common methods used for ligation. Coblation is an upcoming tool with promising results in endoscopic skull base surgeries and tonsillectomies but has not been explored much in TESPAL. It was a randomised observational study.50 patients of refractory epistaxis were included in the study. The patients were divided into 2 groups. Group A underwent TESPAL using electrocauterization while Group B underwent TESPAL using coblation. The data was collected and analysed for various parameters like experience of the surgeon, time taken for surgery, episodes of rebleeding and postoperative crusting. Out of 50 cases in our study 27 were males and 23 were females. Most common age group was 60-70 years (68%). Most common cause was hypertension (86%). Surgeons were happy 21/25 times in coblation group compared to 9/25 times in electrocauterization group. There were 4/25 rebleeding episodes in electrocauterization group compared to none in coblation group. Post-operative crusting was also less in coblation group compared to electrocauterization. Though electrocauterization is a well established method for TESPAL our experience with coblation in TESPAL has been extremely satisfying. We suggest our colleagues to conduct more research studies on use of coblation in TESPAL to reach a consensus.

Success Rate of Endoscopic Sphenopalatine Artery Ligation for the Management of Refractory Posterior Epistaxis Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Introduction:

Epistaxis is a common medical emergency with 5% to 15% of patients admitted for epistaxis will require surgical management as nasal packing has high failure rates. A modern endoscopic technique like Endoscopic Sphenopalatine Artery Ligation has increased in popularity for managing intractable posterior epistaxis. It has less complication and high success rate. The study conducted to estimate the success rate of Endoscopic Sphenopalatine Artery Ligation of refractory posterior epistaxis among admitted patients in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods:

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from June 2019 to June 2020 at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nobel Medical College and Teaching Hospital among the patient with refractory posterior epistaxis with the help of retrospective data. Convenient sampling method was used. These patients underwent endoscopic sphenopalatine artery cauterization for recurrent/intractable posterior epistaxis. Ethical clearance was taken from the Institutional Review Board. Data were analyzed in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.

Results:

Out of the total patient with refractory posterior epistaxis who underwent Endoscopic Sphenopalatine Artery Ligation, the overall success rate was 39 (95.12%). Among them, 25 (60.97%) males and 16 (39.02%) females underwent endoscopic sphenopalatine artery ligation. Twenty (48.78%) of them were unilateral whilst 21 (51.21%) were bilateral disease. About 2 (4.8%) case had re-bleeding within 48 hours which was managed conservatively. Hypertension was found to be the most common comorbid condition followed by diabetes, chronic kidney.

Conclusions:

From our study, we conclude that the success rate for Endoscopic Sphenopalatine Artery Ligation in a patient with refractory posterior epistaxis was high.