X-ray Endovascular Embolization for Splenic Artery Aneurysm Complicated by Intestinal Bleeding

Abstract

Introduction. Splenic artery aneurysms refer to the most common visceral artery aneurysms. However, they are diagnosed quite rarely, since about 80% of them appear asymptomatic. Clinically, splenic artery aneurysms manifest themselves through their complications, including hemorrhage into pancreatic cysts or intra­abdominal bleeding due to their rupture, leading to lethality up to 8.5%. Other complications of splenic artery aneurysms appear extremely rare. The gold standard for the diagnosis of splenic artery aneurysms refers to digital subtraction angiography that enables their exact localization to be determined and aneurysm embolization to be performed. Materials and methods. In the period from 2015 to 2023, we observed 51 patients who underwent endovascular interventions on the splenic artery for hypersplenism (n = 32) and aneurysms (n = 19). In most cases, the aneurysms were asymptomatic. The paper presents a rare clinical case of splenic artery aneurysm complicated by recurrent intestinal bleeding. Results and discussion. Examination (EGD, CS) did not detect the source of recurrent intestinal bleeding. Contrast CT revealed a splenic artery aneurysm. Celiac angiography detected a large aneurysm (52×41 mm) of the splenic artery, closely adjacent to the lower horizontal branch of the duodenum. Endovascular embolization of the splenic artery was performed proximal to the aneurysm, resulting in complete occlusion of blood flow through the splenic artery and aneurysm. No repeated episodes of intestinal bleeding were observed after the intervention, thereby indicating the effectiveness of hemostasis. No signs of splenic ischemization were detected by clinical and examination data due to the preservation of blood flow through short splenic vessels. Conclusion. Endovascular embolization of the splenic artery is found to be an effective treatment for its complicated aneurysms.