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Splenic duplication: a rare cause of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding

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Abstract

Acute gastrointestinal bleeding represents a common medical emergency. We report the rare case of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by varices in the gastric fundus secondary to splenic duplication. Splenic duplication has been only rarely reported in the literature, and no case so far has described the associated complication of gastrointestinal bleeding, caused by venous drainage of the upper spleen via varices in the gastric fundus. We describe the imaging findings from endoscopy, endosonography, computed tomography (CT), flat-panel CT, and angiography in this rare condition and illustrate the effective role of intra-arterial embolization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiodiagnosis, Delhi State Cancer Institute, Delhi, India

    Pankaj Sharma

  2. Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland

    Pankaj Sharma, Hatem Alkadhi & Thomas Pfammatter

  3. Clinic of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Christoph Gubler & Peter Bauerfeind

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  1. Pankaj Sharma
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  2. Hatem Alkadhi
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  3. Christoph Gubler
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  4. Peter Bauerfeind
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  5. Thomas Pfammatter
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Correspondence to Hatem Alkadhi.

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Sharma, P., Alkadhi, H., Gubler, C. et al. Splenic duplication: a rare cause of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Abdom Imaging 38, 163–166 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-012-9884-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-012-9884-4

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