Partial Splenectomy and Splenic Wrapping for a High-Grade Splenic Injury: A Case Report

TL;DR

This case report describes a successful partial splenectomy and splenic wrapping in a young man with severe spleen injury, avoiding total removal and its risks.

Contribution

The report highlights a successful alternative to total splenectomy using partial removal and splenic wrapping for high-grade injury.

Findings

A 20-year-old male with grade IV splenic injury underwent partial splenectomy and splenic wrapping.

The patient avoided total splenectomy and had an uncomplicated recovery with no postoperative complications.

Absorbable mesh wrapping helped control bleeding and preserve splenic function.

Abstract

The spleen is one of the most commonly injured organs in blunt abdominal trauma, accounting for a vast portion of solid organ injuries, and may lead to rapid haemodynamic instability, requiring urgent operative intervention. Total splenectomies result in relative immunocompromise, with a risk of overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI) post splenectomy. This case reports the surgical management of a 20-year-old male with a grade IV splenic laceration after a motor vehicle accident. The patient underwent a trauma laparotomy with a partial splenectomy because of early take-off of the upper-lobar branch of his splenic artery, with an absorbable mesh wrap to tamponade the spleen. The patient avoided the need for a total splenectomy and was discharged after six days in the hospital with an uncomplicated recovery.

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