Post-traumatic pancreatitis with associated aneurysm of the splenic artery: Report of 2 cases and review of the literature

In patients with acute pancreatitis, profuse gastrointestinal bleeding is a ssociated with a high death rate. The cause of such bleeding must be evalua ted and the bleeding controlled urgently. Aneurysm formation is usually the cause of the bleeding. Angiography is needed to make a definitive diagnosi s and the bleeding site should be controlled by angiographic embolization i f possible. If this fails, aneurysm resection is necessary. Two patients ar e described. Both had aneurysms of the splenic artery, presenting as massiv e gastrointestinal bleeding in one patient and bleeding into an associated pseudocyst in the other. They required surgical repair, which was successfu l in both cases.