Balloon Tamponade for Massive Pulmonary Hemorrhage

Severe pulmonary hemorrhage is a major catastrophe usually associated with a rapidly fatal course due to drowning from bronchopulmonary flooding and exsanguination. This complication may be manifested by many of the various medical and surgical disorders of the respiratory tree, and therefore it constitutes a realm of major interest to almost all aspects of medical practice. There exists a need for a simple expedient measure utilizing readily available materials and requiring little or no previous experience by the attending surgeon. I wish to describe such a measure and to report 2 cases where this was used successfully.

Case 1.  —A 72-year-old white male was admitted to the Veterans Administration Hospital on Sept. 31, 1961, complaining of increasing cough, exertional dyspnea, anorexia, dizzy spells, and a 15 pound weight loss. He was found to have a well-differentiated epidermoid carcinoma arising from the right upper-lobe bronchus. The patient was advised of the