Pseudoaneurysm with risk of imminent rupture in Jehovah’s Witness patient

Abstract

Emergency surgery for vascular trauma is associated with a high risk of bleeding, which often requires blood transfusions. We present the case of a patient with gunshot injury with pseudoaneurysms of the giant femoral artery with skin dissection and abundant bleeding that required emergency surgery with vascular repair and discharge of the patient without complications. The Jehovah’s Witness (JW) patient signed a refusal of blood transfusion in his informed consent. The need for blood transfusion was always present, some legal aspects are reviewed that can help the doctor to protect his therapeutic freedom.

Keywords

• Pseudoaneurysm. Blood transfusion. Jehovah?s Witness.