Pancreatitis-associated pseudoaneurysm of the splenic artery presenting as lower gastrointestinal bleeding: Treatment with transcatheter embolisation

Abstract

Pancreatitis is a known cause of pseudoaneurysms of the peripancreatic arteries, which can rarely rupture into various adjacent structures and become a source of life-threatening bleeding. The management is challenging and requires an individualised approach and multidisciplinary care. Herein, we present the case of a 24-year-old man in whom a splenic pseudoaneurysm ruptured into the adjacent infected pseudocyst, communicating with the colon by a fistulous tract, causing massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding. This was successfully managed by transcatheter arterial embolisation (TAE). Copyright 2012 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.