Hematoma – Causes, Risks

Transcript

The most common cause of hematoma is trauma or injury to the blood vessels. Falling from great heights and motor vehicle accidents can cause noticeably large bleeding under the skin or inside the body cavities. Tissue injury can also dissolve from surgery, invasive medical and dental procedures like biopsies or incision and drainage, cardiac catheterization, or injection of medications like insulin, blood thinners, vaccines. Because these procedures may injure surrounding structures and blood vessels, hematomas often occur at the site of the procedure. Occasionally a hematoma may develop without any obvious cause or without any recollection of a proceeding injury. Few medical conditions increase the risk of bleeding and thus increase the risk of hematoma formation. A few examples are chronic liver disease, excessive alcohol use, bleeding disorders like hemophilia, Von Willebrand disease, blood cancers, thrombocytopenia, which is a low platelet count, among others. There are also some medications which embed the clotting ability of blood and thus increase the risk of bleeding and hematoma formation. A few examples of these are: blood thinning agents like clopidogrel also known as Plavix, aspirin, or aspirin containing compounds, anticoagulants like warfarin also known as Coumadin, nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drugs, supplements like vitamin E, garlic and ginkgo biloba.