Case report - Thoracic non-oncologic Splenic injury following diaphragmatic plication: an avoidable life-threatening complication

We report an unusual complication of left-sided diaphragmatic plication, namely bleeding from the spleen due to tearing of adhesions between the spleen and the abdominal aspect of the diaphragm. We believe that making a small incision in the diaphragm prior to the plication to identify and divide the adhesions could have prevented the complication, and that this manoeuvre should be a standard part of the operation. 2009 Published by European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.