Massive haemorrhage
- from a torn lumbar vein, a hepatic vein during liver mobilisation, the cava itself at a clamp or the suture line, or collaterals in a pelvis and retroperitoneum congested by a blocked cava.
- Pack and press, tell the anaesthetist the estimate and that the major haemorrhage protocol is now active, and get a second suction and a second pair of senior hands. first move
- Proximal and distal control of the cava with clamps or manual compression on the aorta and cava against the spine; a lumbar vein is oversewn from inside the opened cava if it cannot be reached behind.
- A hepatic vein or retrohepatic caval tear: total vascular exclusion of the liver with the Pringle on and the cava clamped above and below, and the hepatobiliary surgeon repairs it.
- Bleeding that will not stop with the patient cold, acidotic and coagulopathic: pack, close and return in twenty-four hours; the operation is abandoned before the patient is. escalation trigger
- Op note: the source, the control, the clamp times, the blood and products given, and whether the abdomen was left packed. document