True and false splenic artery aneurysm on endoscopic ultrasonography: Two-case analysis

The etiology of true and false splenic artery aneurysm is different, but the differential X-ray contrast diagnosis could be difficult. Purpose - to detect endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) diagnostic capability for false and true splenic artery aneurysm by considering two clinical cases: With suspected stomach and pancreatic lesions.

Patient, female, 50-year-old with suspected stomach lesion, complicated by gastric bleeding. Endoscopy - acute gastric ulcer. X-ray - submucosal gastric tumor. The patient was sent to the EUS with fine-needle aspiration.

Patient, male, 73-year-old with suspected pancreatic neoplasm. Ultrasound - pancreatic cysts. Computed tomography (CT) - neoplasm of the pancreas body. Celiacography - splenic artery aneurysm. The patient was sent to the EUS to clarify the diagnosis.

First patient EUS - anechoic rounded lesion with thick wall close to the stomach. Stomach wall layers were not differentiated above the lesion. Doppler - turbulent blood flow. EUS excluded submucosal lesion and proved the presence of aneurysm. CT confirmed the aneurysm. Post-operative histology - splenic artery pseudoaneurysm, destruction of the stomach wall and pancreatic parenchyma. Second patient EUS - ovoid solid-cystic lesion with thin hyperechoic "capsule." Doppler in cystic part - arterial blood flow. EUS suspected saccular splenic artery aneurysm with the neck and the residual lumen. Post-operative histology - true splenic artery aneurysm with thrombotic masses near the wall, pancreatic parenchyma was intact.

EUS can reliably differentiate splenic artery aneurysm from gastric submucosal lesion and differentiate true and false aneurysm with high probability.