Vascular embolization of multiple splenic ruptures to stop bleeding

  Two cases of grade II splenic injury and one case of grade III splenic injury combined with intra-abdominal hemorrhage and blood accumulation were admitted to the hospital on an emergency basis, and two cases combined with traumatic brain injury, chest trauma and multiple limb fractures. The patients’ vital signs were relatively stable at the time of admission, and they were treated actively and immediately, with positive preoperative preparations, contacted the interventional department, sent to the interventional operating room in an emergency, and cooperated with the interventional department for surgical treatment. The patient had no postoperative chills/high fever, no significant increase in platelets or white blood cells, and the patient recovered smoothly without significant complications.  Discussion: There is a consensus that the treatment of splenic trauma should be based on the principle of “saving life first and preserving the spleen second” [2]. In 1973, Maddison first reported a case of portal hypertension with hypersplenism in which the splenic artery was embolized with a self-clot via catheter. After the 1980s, the advantages of splenic artery embolization (SAE), especially partial splenic embolization (PSE), were gradually discovered. 0wens et al. found that transcatheter superselective and gelatin sponge embolization was also suitable for some patients with splenic rupture with high surgical risk. The morbidity and mortality rate of splenic rupture in foreign technically sophisticated splenic embolization treatment centers is only 2.4%, which is lower than the operative mortality rate of splenectomy.  The indications for interventional treatment of splenic rupture are grade I splenic injury by CT, including isolated or multiple splenic parenchymal lacerations without injury to the splenic hilum and without combined abdominal organ injury; grade II or III splenic injury with hemodynamic instability or delayed rupture during conservative treatment; or grade IV splenic injury in patients <20 years of age. Contraindications include iodine allergy, extremely low function of all organs, severe infection and fever, and significantly prolonged prothrombin time.  Splenic artery embolization materials are mainly gelatin sponges, vascular microcoils, etc. The seldinger method is used for percutaneous puncture of the femoral artery, selective splenic artery cannulation, and angiographic examination first to observe whether there are signs of splenic artery truncation, focal staining and bleeding. The most direct sign of hemorrhage and the most reliable basis for diagnosis is the discovery of contrast spillage (bleeding volume >0.5 mL/min). If the splenic vascular rupture is clear, partial embolization of the splenic artery is performed, and a superselected cannula is inserted deep into the splenic lobe or segmental artery to release the embolic material. If the catheter cannot be superselected to the splenic hilum, strip gelatin sponge embolization can be used, but the flow direction of embolic agent should be closely monitored to avoid ectopic embolization. If the ruptured vessel is not clear, and only hematoma is seen around the spleen and/or accompanied by a bloody dark area in the abdominal cavity (cT or B ultrasound), embolization of the splenic artery trunk is feasible, but it should still be inserted as far as possible to the middle and distal ends of the splenic artery to avoid accidental embolization of the dorsal pancreatic artery. If there is contrast retention or slow flow rate after treatment, it indicates that the bleeding has stopped and the embolization is stopped. Unsuccessful embolization is mostly due to the fact that the collateral circulation is located distal to the level of embolization, and the embolization can be repeated several times if it is unsuccessful once.  A problem to be aware of is the potential for splenic infarction or ectopic embolization flare-ups. Given the multiple sources of blood supply to the spleen, embolization of the splenic artery trunk does not usually result in total splenic infarction; it has been suggested that combined superselective cannulation of multiple vascular pathways may prevent ectopic embolism from occurring, but is more likely to result in splenic infarction.  In patients with splenic trauma, interventional treatment of the splenic artery can, to a certain extent, preserve certain functions of the spleen, facilitate patients’ postoperative recovery and reduce the occurrence of various postoperative surgical complications, accelerate patients’ postoperative recovery, and reduce patients’ pain. Patients recover quickly after treatment by minimally invasive surgery, avoiding severe trauma and surgical anesthesia strikes caused by traditional open surgery, postoperative abdominal pain, abdominal adhesions, incisional infection and other complication rates, in line with the concept related to accelerated rehabilitation surgery. We believe that splenic artery vascular intervention for splenic trauma needs to strictly grasp the surgical indications, master the timing of surgery, try to avoid medical-related risks, accelerate patient recovery, and contribute to improving the level of hospital trauma treatment and showing the gold level of trauma treatment technology in our hospital.