The control of spontaneous bleeding is a problem familiar to all physicians. In rhinolaryngology epistaxis and hemorrhage following tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy are the two most common examples of this problem. The term "spontaneous hemorrhage" is used to define marked, sudden, and unexpected bleeding.1It does not imply that the hemorrhage is idiopathic, although the cause may not be determinable. Nor as it is used here does it refer to bleeding resulting from the rupture of a single vessel but connotes profuse oozing from the surface of the bleeding area, wherever it might be. Finding a simple, reliable solution for these common emergencies has taxed the ingenuity of the medical profession. To control spontaneous epistaxis, many schemes of therapy have been recommended, such as vitamins K and C, anterior and posterior nasal packing, penicillin, cautery, ice packs, thrombin and fibrin foam, and ligation of the external carotid artery.2In