A case with small renal tumor complicated with pulmonary oil embolism after transcatheter arterial embolization

An 85-year-old gentleman was diagnosed with a small right renal cell carcinoma by a radiologist. The patient opted for cryotherapy instead of partial nephrectomy. One day before the scheduled cryoablation, the patient received trans-catheter arterial embolization (TAE) with lipiodol and it was complicated with tumor rupture and peri-renal hematoma formation. The patient was discharged under a stable condition after 12-day's conservative treatment. However, upon arriving home, the patient lost consciousness and was sent to our ER, and presented with asystole. Emergent CT revealed hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and pulmonary embolism with bilateral lungs filled with lipiodol. We herein describe a very rare case with complication after treating renal cell carcinoma and review the relevant literature.