Balloon compression of the intramaxillary sinus for intractable post-traumatic bleeding from the maxillary artery. Case report.

We present a case of severe intractable epistaxis after midfacial trauma in which the bleeding was identified as coming from the descending palatine artery, a branch of the maxillary artery. It could not be controlled by simple packing, and was stopped by inserting a balloon into the maxillary sinus, tamponading the injured vessel in the sphenopalatine fossa (pterigopalatine fossa). We describe an easy and practical emergency manoeuvre to control bleeding from inaccessible branches of the maxillary artery and to prevent rebleeding after embolisation.