Angiographic embolization of a post-traumatic splenic pseudoaneurysm

Abstract

After the liver, the spleen is the second most commonly injured organ in blunt abdominal trauma. The past two decades have witnessed a trend towards non-surgical management of these injuries, and transarterial embolization (TAE) has greatly contributed to avoiding unnecessary laparotomies, especially in haemodynamically stable patients. We present the case of a 21-year-old male patient involved in a motor accident with subsequent injury of the left thorax and fracture of the left ulna. Abdominal computed tomography revealed the presence of a parenchymal haematoma and a pseudoaneurysm of the splenic artery. Since the patient was haemodynamically stable, he was admitted to the clinic and the pseudoaneurysm was treated with distal selective TAE. Six months later, he remains asymptomatic without signs of pathology on Doppler ultrasound at follow-up. The use of these modalities can contribute to better success rates of NOM and should be readily available at any hospital treating trauma patients.