• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.124-126
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• 1997

Stellate ganglion block is the most widely practiced procedure in the pain clinics due to its wide range of indications. We experienced a rare case who exhibited severe hematoma in neck following stellate ganglion block. A 58-year-old female patient injured by a traffic accident was admitted to the department of negro surgery for the treatment of cerebral contusion, cervical and lumbar sprain and left arm paresis. Because left sensory neural hearing loss occurred, the patient was referred to the pain clinic for treatment with stellate ganglion block due to her left sensory neural hearing loss. The next day stellate ganglion block was done with a negative aspiration for blood. Three hours later, hematoma in neck was found and the patient complained of pain in the neck and dyspnea. The symptoms and signs of respiratory difficulty were progressively aggravated. The hematoma was removed and ruptured muscular branch of vertebral artery was ligated under surgical exploration. In this case, the needle was apparently in the branch of vertebral artery during or after injection in spite of the negative aspiration for blood. Authors recommend that compression of the injected site over 5 minutes should be necessary to prevent a hematoma formation despite of a negative aspiration for blood.