Skip to main content
Log in

Geriatric assessment of a giant splenic artery aneurysm accidentally diagnosed

  • Case Report
  • Published:
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Giant splenic artery aneurysms (GSAAs) larger than 8 cm in diameter have rarely been reported, particularly in older people. They are clinically important lesions, often asymptomatic and related to an increased risk of complications such as abrupt rupture, requiring emergency surgical treatment. Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), originally developed for multidimensional clinical evaluation in several geriatric settings, was recently proposed as a fundamental preoperative aid for treatment planning of older patients undergoing elective surgery and preventing adverse post-operative outcomes. We present the first case of an asymptomatic 9-cm partially thrombosed GSAA, accidentally diagnosed during abdominal ultrasound in a 63-year-old woman from the Apulia region in Southern Italy. She successfully underwent aneurysmectomy, highlighting the usefulness of CGA in elective surgical patients.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Dave SP, Reis ED, Hossain A, Taub PS, Kerstein HD, Hollier LH. Splenic artery aneurysm in the 1990s. Ann Vasc Surg 2000; 14: 223–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Carr SC, Mahvi DM, Hoch JR, Archer CW, Turnipseed WD. Visceral artery, aneurysm rupture. J Vasc Surg 2001; 33: 806–11.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Vlychou M, Kokkinis C, Stathopoulou S et al. Imaging investigation of a giant splenic artery aneurysm. Angiology 2008; 59: 503–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Orsitto G, Fulvio F, Tria D, Turi V, Venezia A, Manca C. Nutritional status in hospitalized elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment. Clin Nutr 2009; 28: 100–2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Vellas B, Guigoz Y, Garry PJ et al. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and its use in grading the nutritional state of elderly patients. Nutrition 1999; 15: 116–22.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Abbas MA, Stone WM, Fowl RJ et al. Splenic artery aneurysms: two decades experience at Mayo Clinic. Ann Vasc Surg 2002; 16: 442–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Pulli R, Dorigo W, Troisi N, Pratesi G, Innocenti AA, Pratesi C. Surgical treatment of visceral artery aneurysms: a 25 year experience. J Vasc Surg 2008; 48: 334–42.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Pulli R, Innocenti AA, Barbanti E et al. Early and long-term results of surgical treatment of splenic artery aneurysms. Am J Surg 2001; 182: 520–3.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Leung JM, Dzankic S. Relative importance of preoperative health status versus intraoperative factors in predicting postoperative adverse outcomes in geriatric surgical patients. J Am Geriatr Soc 2001; 49: 1080–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Harari D, Hopper A, Dhesi J, Babic-Illman G, Lockwood L, Martin F. Proactive care of older people undergoing surgery (‘POPS’): designing, embedding, evaluating and funding a comprehensive geriatric assessment service for older elective surgical patients. Age Ageing 2007; 36: 190–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Liu LL, Leung JM. Predicting adverse post-operative outcomes in patients aged 80 years or older. J Am Geriatr Soc 2000; 48: 405–12.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Audisio RA, Ramesh H, Longo WE, Zbar AP, Pope D. Preoperative assessment of surgical risk in oncogeriatric patients. The Oncologist 2005; 10: 262–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Brunello A, Sandri R, Extermann M. Multidimensional geriatric evaluation for older cancer patients as a clinical and research tool. Cancer Treat Rev 2009; 35: 487–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giuseppe Orsitto MD.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Orsitto, G., Fulvio, F., Pinto, A.G. et al. Geriatric assessment of a giant splenic artery aneurysm accidentally diagnosed. Aging Clin Exp Res 23, 491–494 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325246

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325246

Key words

Navigation