Splenic injury during percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a case report with novel management technique

We describe a case of a splenic injury caused by a transsplenic percutaneous nephrostomy tract. The case was completed without incident and the nephrostomy tube was noted to traverse the spleen on routine postoperative imaging. This rare complication was managed by deposition of Gelfoam((R)) pledgets along the transsplenic nephrostomy tract and placement of a ureteral stent. This novel management technique has not been previously described in the literature and was successful in the conservative treatment of the uncommon complication of splenic injury during percutaneous nephrolithotomy.