Scintigraphic localization of the bleeding site of a large retroperitoneal hematoma following renal angioplasty.

Although the scintigraphic detection of a few soft tissue hematomas have been reported, these usually have been serendipitous discoveries that were small and self-limited. The authors report a case of a large, rapidly expanding retroperitoneal hematoma that occurred following a left renal angioplasty. While the hematoma was initially detected by CT imaging, the precise source of the bleeding could not be definitively localized. Scintigraphy with labeled RBC cells, however, identified the left femoral artery puncture site as the bleeding source, which was subsequently surgically repaired.