Traumatic hemobilia. Successful nonoperative treatment in two cases.

Traumatic hemobilia is an uncommon and potentially fatal complication of blunt or penetrating liver trauma. We report two patients who were successfully treated with embolization immediately following diagnosis with selective arteriography. These findings, when added to the experience reported by others, support selective embolization as the therapy of choice in trauma patients who do not require initial surgery, in cases of hemobilia following percutaneous liver biopsy, and in cases of hemobilia with recurrence after surgical treatment.