Endovascular treatment of splenic artery aneurysm rupture - Case Report

Abstract

Background Splenic artery aneurysm is a rare vascular pathology but is the most common visceral arterial aneurysm. Most of them are asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally but can quickly become life-threatening when ruptured. This is a rare case of a spontaneous splenic artery aneurysm rupture in a high-risk patient for surgery and endovascular treatment was the only option to save patient’s life. Case presentation We report a 70-year-old woman with multiple comorbidities, presenting to the emergency department with signs of shock: confusion, pallor, tachycardia and hypotension. Computed tomography shows an active bleeding from a splenic artery aneurysm rupture. She was successfully submitted to emergent arterial embolization of the splenic artery aneurysm and discharged from hospital a few days later. Conclusions Endovascular treatment is a less aggressive approach and should be considered in high-risk patients for surgical treatment. This is a case that shows the importance of immediate diagnosis and treatment is the only option to save patient’s life.