Spontaneous splenic rupture two days after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

Introduction: Sleeve gastrectomy is a common bariatric procedure to manage morbid obesity. Splenic injury such as splenic rupture after sleeve gastrectomy is a rare complication which can be treated both with a splenectomy or conservative approach, called spleen-preserving surgery.

Patients and methods: A 42-year old male, in whom we performed a sleeve gastrectomy, presented with splenic rupture, within 48 h postoperative, for which spleen-preserving surgery was performed. As splenic rupture is a very rare complication, we performed an extensive literature search in the PubMed database. After obtaining patient informed consent, we aim to describe a sixth presentation of this rare surgical complication.

Result: To the best of our knowledge, only five cases of splenic rupture after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy have been described before, all treated with a splenectomy. Furthermore, we are the first to describe spleen-preserving surgery.

Conclusion: We present the sixth case of spontaneous splenic rupture after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, and the first to treat it with spleen-preserving surgery.