Managing anomalous splenic artery aneurysm: a review of the literature and report of two cases

The splenic artery originates from the superior mesenteric artery in approximately 1% of cases,which may explain the extreme rarity of aneurysms involving this anomalous branch, with onlyfive cases reported in the international literature to date. We report our experience of managingtwo patients with aneurysms involving splenic arteries arising from the superior mesentericartery, one treated surgically and the other percutaneously. From a diagnostic point of view, thefirst approach is ultrasound, while computed tomographic (CT) scan and angiography enable abetter definition of the lesion and of the anatomical anomaly; CT angiography is currently themethod of choice for the preoperative workup. Finding these two anomalies in association is sorare that it is impossible to draw any final conclusions as to the best type of treatment. In theauthors' experience, both surgery and percutaneous treatment can prove useful.