Spontaneous Spleen Rupture: Rare But Not Exceptional

Abstract

Spontaneous splenic rupture is a rare life threatening condition that occurs in 0.1% to 0.5% of all the spleen rupture cases. In case of a young patient with no history who consults for acute abdominal pain, the diagnosis of spontaneous spleen rupture is often forgotten or ignored in favour of other more frequent diagnoses. However, it has the highest mortality rate so it should always be kept in mind in front of signs of internal haemorrhage especially if it is associated with haemodynamic instability. Emergency Splenectomy is often performed with good reported outcomes. We present a case of a spontaneous idiopathic splenic rupture, diagnosed early and managed successfully.

Keywords

• atraumatic
• emergency
• idiopatic
• laparotomy