Acute abdominal aortic thrombosis following the Hiemlich maneuver

Complications from the Heimlich maneuver are relatively infrequent. Two fatal cases of abdominal aortic thrombosis have been reported following this technique. We report on the first patient that suffered an acute thrombosis of the abdominal aorta and survived. Prompt recognition of this complication provides the only hope of survival from this rare and catastrophic complication. (C) 2002 The International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.