Splenic infarction, a complication of transcatheter hepatic arterial embolization for liver malignancies

Splenic infarction was recognized in five of 37 patients who had hepatic neoplasms and who were being examined after transcatheter hepatic arterial embolization by CT during a follow-up study. CT images of the spleen showed multiple low density areas of a wedge or fused-wedge shape in most patients and of a rod or round shape in others. These low density areas decreased in size in time, and in two patients they disappeared in three months. Three of the five patients complained of a dull pain in the left upper quadrant that did not require any treatment. CT is effective in the diagnosis and assessment of splenic infarction. Awareness of this complication will help to avoid it when hepatic arterial embolization is being performed.