INTRAOPERATIVE BLOOD SALVAGE TECHNIQUE

BACKGROUND: Intra-peritoneal
blood salvage following massive blood loss in surgical settings is relatively
uncommon and a matter of interest for clinicians in general. There have been,
however, few reports of such cases in the literature. Any blood salvage procedure perhaps may be a
life-saving measure, especially in scenario where compatible homologous blood
is not readily available. The rarity of occurrence and clinical curiosity of
this entity suggest reporting of this unusual clinical event.

CASE PRESENTATION: We
report the intra-operative blood collection and subsequent re-transfusion in a
22-year-old Cameroonian primigravida lady. She was hemodynamically unstable following
massive intra-peritoneal hemorrhage from a ruptured ectopic gestation. Incidentally, this index patient was
successfully resuscitated with timely and appropriate resuscitative measures.
She went ahead to have emergency open pelvic exploration and right
salpingectomy with good post-operative outcome and recovery.

CONCLUSIONS: The
practice of intra-operative blood salvage techniques as an antidote to massive
blood loss is far from being the reality in most clinical settings. With respect to cost savings associated with
the use of intra-operative blood salvage, this becomes relatively significant
only when there is a high blood loss and a high blood salvage rate. This case
report elaborates the benefits inherent in simple intra-operative blood salvage
program with an improvised Johnson’s blood salvage kits used in the index
patient; that proved practicable, cost-effective to implement in a busy
surgical unit and especially those within resource constrained settings.