Thromboelastography (‘TEG’) and rotational thromboelasto-

metry (‘ROTEM’) are used increasingly in cardiac and liver surgery to evaluate clotting factor deficiencies and platelet dysfunction. 7 Both monitor viscoelastic properties of whole blood as it is induced to clot in a low-shear environment (resembling sluggish venous flow) and provide valuable information on haemostasis from initiation to fibrinolysis. Our case illustrates the limitations that routine clotting tests have in predicting the risk of haemorrhage and we postulate that had results of TEG or ROTEM been available the extent of the coagulation defect might have been determined more expediently. We believe that there may be an increasing role for such point of care testing in this setting.