Experience of Splenic Artery Aneurysms

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Splenic artery aneurysm is uncommon, but the increased frequency in use of arteriography, computed tomography, and ultrasonography has resulted in increasing clinical recognition of these lesions. This paper relates our experience in the outcome and management of aneurysms of the splenic artery. METHODS: From January 1992 to October 1999, 12 patients were diagnosed with splenic artery aneurysms. They were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The male to female ratio was 14 and the mean age was 46.3 years. The mean of pregnancy history of all women was 3.0 and there were no pregnant women during operation. The associated diseases that might have caused the aneurysms were pancreatitis in 5 patients, portal hypertension in 1, operative trauma in 1, and ill defined pathogenesis in 5 patients. The size of the aneurysms was larger than 2 cm in all patients. The splenic artery aneurysms was located at distal in 9 patients, mid in 1, and proximal in 2 patients. 7 patients were treated surgically (aneurysmectomy without splenectomy in 1 patient, aneurysmectomy with splenectomy in 6 patients). Transcatheter embolization was used in 4 patients. One of them was treated with distal pancreatectomy after two months because of pancreatic pseudocyst. One patient without treatment died 2 years after diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Although surgery remains necessary in splenic artery aneurysms larger than 2 cm, transcatheter embolization is effective in initial treatment of the high risk group in splenic artery aneurysms.