Spontaneous rupture of adrenal haemangioma mimicking abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture

Piotr Paluszkiewicz1, Iwona Ambroziak, Katarzyna Hołyńska-Dąbrowska

  • 1Department of Surgery and Surgical Nursing, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.

Serious bleeding from a ruptured adrenal mass limits preoperative diagnostics and can necessitate urgent laparotomy to control blood loss. A 45-year old man underwent an emergency laparotomy due to severe retroperitoneal haemorrhage causing hypovolaemia. Detailed retroperitoneal dissection after splenectomy and clamping of the abdominal aorta revealed bleeding from a ruptured haemangioma of the left adrenal gland. Following a left adrenalectomy, the patient returned to a stable haemodynamic state. Adrenal haemangiomas are rare, but may cause spontaneous life-threatening haemorrhage.

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