Bleeding during this procedure is normal. In fact, some bleeding after the surgery is also expected. There can be several causes of bleeding and the treatment will vary depending on the cause and your individual situation. It is possible that urgent surgery may be necessary to stop serious bleeding after your procedure or to repair a blood vessel that was damaged.

If bleeding is severe, blood transfusions are often used. Because the blood and blood products are actively screened for various diseases and problems, including AIDS and hepatitis among others, blood transfusions are generally safe.

There is, however, an extremely rare chance that you may contract an illness secondary to a transfusion. The estimated risk of:

Hepatitis C from blood transfusions is 1 in 100,000

Hepatitis B is 1 in 200,000 and

HIV is about 1 in 600,000.

Depending on your individual situation, it may also be possible for you to donate your own blood. If so, you will usually donate blood about 3-4 weeks prior to the surgery.

This makes the possibility of receiving a transfusion from the blood bank more unlikely.