Rupture of an accessory spleen caused by blunt trauma

The accessory spleen is quite a common abdominal anomaly. However, the traumatic accessory spleen rupture is an extremely rare condition requiring surgical intervention, even laparotomy. 9 cases of traumatic accessory spleen were found published between 1962 and 2022. The study aims to evaluate traumatic accessory spleen rupture cases regarding their causes, clinical course, and possible diagnosis without surgery and treatment.

Desk research method using available online databases. Descriptive methods were employed to analyze the collected data. The results are summarized in the Table concerning gender, age, injury details, accessory spleen injury characteristics, treatment, and others such as previous splenectomy or primary spleen involvement in injury or accompanying abdominal injuries.

In total, there were 9 cases of traumatic accessory spleen, of which 2 were managed conservatively and the remaining 7 were treated operatively. All the patients survived. One-third of all included patients already had their primary spleen removed, which facilitated the diagnosis of traumatic rupture of an accessory spleen. The proper diagnosis of an accessory spleen rupture was concluded in 2 cases and confirmed in surgery.

The recognition of the traumatic rupture of an accessory spleen before surgery is challenging but can be made easier if the patient underwent splenectomy before. The traumatic accessory spleen rupture does not coexist with an injury of a primary spleen.