| Title | Splenic rupture as the presenting manifestation of primary splenic angiosarcoma in a teenage woman: a case report. | | Author(s) | Manouras A, Giannopoulos P, Toufektzian L, Markogiannakis H, Lagoudianakis EE, Papadima A, Papanikolaou D, Filis K, Kekis P | | Source | J Med Case Reports 2008 Apr 29; 2(1):133. | | Abstract | ABSTRACT:
INTRODUCTION: Primary splenic angiosarcoma is a rare neoplasm of vascular origin carrying a very poor prognosis, partly due to its high metastatic potential. This disease presents frequently with splenic rupture and hemorrhage. We report the case of a 17-year-old woman who presented with rupture of a primary splenic angiosarcoma.
CASE PRESENTATION: The patient presented with diffuse abdominal pain and distention. Clinical examination revealed severe tenderness in the left upper abdominal quadrant, a palpable abdominal mass, and hemodynamic instability with a systolic arterial blood pressure of 75mmHg and heart rate of 135 beats per minute. Blood tests revealed anemia (hemoglobin 7.0g/dl) and thrombocytopenia (platelets 70x109/liter). After initial fluid resuscitation and stabilization, abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography were performed, revealing a large quantity of intraperitoneal free fluid, an enlarged spleen, and a heterogeneous low-density signal within the splenic parenchyma, which showed varying degrees of contrast enhancement. At laparotomy a huge (weight 1530g, diameter 19cm) actively bleeding spleen was identified and splenectomy was performed. Histopathology showed a primary splenic angiosarcoma. After an uneventful recovery, the patient was discharged on the sixth postoperative day.
CONCLUSIONS: Primary splenic angiosarcoma is rare. Although this malignancy is usually encountered in advanced age, there have been a few reported cases among younger patients. The case reported here presented with splenic rupture, was treated by laparotomy and splenectomy, and the patient is disease free 16 months after surgery. | | Language | ENG | | Pub Type(s) | JOURNAL ARTICLE
| | PubMed ID | 18445294 |
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