The use of hemorrhage occluder pins for controlling paravertebral intercostal artery bleeding: case report.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a technique for arresting traumatic bleeding uncontrollable by conventional means. METHODS AND RESULTS: Major intrathoracic bleeding was stopped in a 17-year-old boy who had been stabbed in his right chest by using a Hemorrhage Occluder Pin (Surgical Instruments Inc., Placetia, Calif). CONCLUSIONS: The use of occluder pins to stop bleeding from intercostal arteries may be life-saving.