Abstract
Splenic artery aneurysm (SAA) is the commonest visceral artery aneurysm. It is diagnosed
more frequently in younger women, with up to 95% presenting during pregnancy. Rupture
is associated with a disproportionately high maternal and fetal mortality.
We performed a literature search on the patient and SAA characteristics, clinical
presentations, management and outcome of this serious complication.
There were 32 patients in total with a mean age of 27.9 years (range 20–38). The mean
SAA size was 2.25 cm (range 0.5–4 cm) and from the available data half of the ruptured SAA were 2 cm or less. Only one case (3.1%) was discovered incidentally, whilst the rest (96.9%)
were found following rupture. The majority ruptured spontaneously. Most (62%) of the
patients underwent SAA ligation and splenectomy. The maternal death rate was 21.9%
(n = 7), and fetal death rate was 15.6% (n = 5).
Most cases are not diagnosed until surgery following rupture. Ruptured SAA should
be considered in the differential diagnosis of a pregnant patient with severe and
unexplained abdominal pain.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 22, 2009
Accepted:
May 28,
2009
Received in revised form:
May 27,
2009
Received:
March 19,
2009
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
