Removal of a splenic artery with a large aneurysm adhered to the pancreas without pancreatectomy: report of a case.

ABSTRACT

Splenic artery aneurysms account for about 60% of all visceral aneurysms. The treatment include surgical procedures that sometimes require pancreatectomy. This report describes the case of a 64-year-old woman who had multiple splenic artery aneurysms with various visceral artery dilatations. Because there was no obvious cause for the splenic artery aneurysms and other arterial abnormalities, we suspected an anomaly of the connective tissue, which was subsequently confirmed by a postoperative histopathologic examination. Thus, we decided to remove the whole splenic artery, to eliminate the formation of any further aneurysms, as well as a splenectomy. During the operation, the largest splenic artery aneurysm was found to be adhered to the pancreas too tightly to ablate. It initially appeared that pancreatectomy would be necessary, but considering the associated risk of postoperative complications, we tried to avoid this. Thus, we cut open the aneurysm and excised it, leaving the anterior wall which was adhered to the pancreas. Our procedure proved the best way to preserve the pancreas and eliminate further aneurysmal formation.