ABSTRACT
Gastric volvulus is a rare but potentially life-threatening clinical entity due to possible gastric necrosis. A wandering spleen may also be associated with gastric volvulus. Patients presenting with the triad epigastralgia, vomiting followed by retching, and difficulty or inability to pass a nasogastric tube into the stomach are likely to have gastric volvulus. The operating surgeon should include this rare entity in the differential diagnosis when dealing with a patient with such a clinical profile. Herein, we present a case of gastric volvulus associated with a wandering spleen in a 28-year-old Caucasian woman and we provide a brief review of the literature on this issue.
ABSTRACT
Introduction. Hydatid disease is caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus and is still a matter of public health in many regions of the world, where it is an endemic parasitic disease. Although the liver is the most involved organ, hydatidosis can be found anywhere in the human body. Rare forms of location may lead to diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. Case Report. Herein we report a rare case of acute abdominal pain and progressively increasing abdominal distension due to abdominal and multiple splenic echinococcosis in a 72-year-old Caucasian male. We also provide a brief review of the literature. Conclusion. Although hydatid disease is found most often in the liver and lungs, rarely any organ of the body can be involved by this zoonosis. Though rare, the possibility of unusual location of echinococcosis must always be considered by the operating surgeon, when dealing with diffuse abdominal pain in endemic areas, because any misinterpretation may result in unfavorable outcomes.
