A CASE REPORT OF RUPTURED SPLENIC ARTERY ANEURYSM AND A REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS IN JAPAN

A case of a rupture of splenic artery aneurysm, which is considered a rare condition, was successfully diagnosed preoperatively and treated. A review of the cases documented in Japan is also reported. A 60-year-old female was referred to us with complaints of sudden onset of epigastralgia and nausea. A child's fist sized, elastic hard mass with smooth surface in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen led the patient to receive CT scan and angiography, which revealed an aneurysm of 6.0×5.0cm in diameter at the root of the splenic artery. Severe anemia indicated an emergency laparotomy on the next day after admission. The aneurysm was found to be so close to the celiac axis that the abdominal aorta was clamped and the aneurysm was treated with aneurysmotomy and arteriorraphy, following splenectomy. The patient made an excellent recovery and was sent home on the 24th postoperative day. As far as we could find in documents, this case was the 31st one in Japan. Splenic artery aneurysms will be diagnosed more frequently because of further improvement of diagnostic techniques such as angiography.