XIII - Thrombosis - Embolism
Fat/oil embolism - The FES embolism syndrome
Last update 17/06/2026
Migration of exogenous oil or lipids or endogenous fat into the distal pulmonary microcirculation can cause a syndrome of acute coughing, hypoxemia, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary infiltrates and/or ARDS. Neurologic or visual impairment and obtundation characterizes those cases with transpulmonary shunting of oil/fat and have a guarded prognosis. Silicone embolism (see under VIm) is a closely-related syndrome. Iodinated oil embolism, a nearly specific complication of TACE is electron-dense on imaging (better visualized on non-enhanced CT). Imaging features: PMID 23102488. Review and pathology: PMID 29939780.
