Nosebleeds are common. In fact, 60 percent of us have them at some point, but for some it can be very serious. Primarily for those with high blood pressure or on blood thinners, nosebleeds may require medical treatment.
Our Colin Derdeyn, MD, director of the Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Jewish Hospital, recently presented data at the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy finding that a treatment involving the same material in kitchen sponges can make these nosebleeds a thing of the past.
In the procedure, Dr. Derdeyn, an interventional radiologist, performs a minimally invasive embolization, in which polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles (the material in kitchen sponges) are injected into the blood vessels to the nose. To do this, he threads a tiny tube called a catheter into a groin artery and advances it through the body to one or more of the four arteries that supply the nose, injecting the PVA particles. The particles temporarily stop the blood flow, halting the nosebleed and allowing the area to heal. PVA has been used safely in the body medically for about 50 years.
You can read more here in USA Today or watch this interview with KSDK’s Kay Quinn:
For more about Dr. Derdeyn, watch this video here:
-Jason Merrill
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