Rupture of a splenic artery aneurysm into the pancreatic duct. Case report

A 71-year-old woman was admitted to a local hospital with abdominal pain and repeated haematemeses and melaena. Plain X-ray of the abdomen showed a cystic mass with a calcified wall behind the stomach. No bleeding point in the stomach or duodenum was found at gastroscopy. Over a period of 28 days she had five episodes of gastrointestinal haemorrhage with no drop in blood pressure. She was transferred to the regional hospital 26 days after admission. Angiography showed a splenic artery aneurysm 5 x 10 cm, which at operation was found to have ruptured into the pancreatic duct. The aneurysm, the tail of the pancreas and the spleen were removed, and she made an uneventful recovery.