RESEARCH ARTICLE
Type IV Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Surgical Emergency? A Case of Massive Retroperitoneal Hemorrhage
Stephen G Chun1, 2, †, *, Patrick Pedro1, †, Mihae Yu1, Danny M Takanishi1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2011Volume: 5
First Page: 210
Last Page: 211
Publisher ID: TOCMJ-5-210
DOI: 10.2174/1874192401105010210
Article History:
Received Date: 28/7/2011Revision Received Date: 16/8/2011
Acceptance Date: 19/8/2011
Electronic publication date: 23/9/2011
Collection year: 2011
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Retroperitoneal hemorrhagic bleeding is a known manifestation of Type-IV Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome that is caused by loss-of-function mutations of the pro-alpha-1 chains of type III pro-collagen (COL3A1) resulting in vascular fragility. A number of previous reports describe futile surgical intervention for retroperitoneal bleeding in Type-IV Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome with high post-operative mortality, although the rarity of retroperitoneal bleeding associated with Type-IV Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome precludes an evidence-based approach to clinical management. We report a 23-year-old male with history of Type-IV Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome who presented with severe abdominal pain and tachycardia following an episode of vomiting. Further work-up of his abdominal pain revealed massive retroperitoneal bleeding by CT-scan of the abdomen. Given numerous cases of catastrophic injury caused by surgical intervention in Type-IV Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, the patient was treated non-operatively, and the patient made a full recovery. This case suggests that even in cases of large retroperitoneal hemorrhages associated with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, it may not truly represent a surgical emergency.
