The diagnosis of splenic rupture following trauma is often obvious, but it may present a perplexing problem. In most instances the correct diagnosis can be made from the history of the injury, the physical examination, and a few simple diagnostic studies which are well known and accepted and need not be discussed in detail here.1,2 These include radiographic evidence of splenic enlargement and/or gastric or colonic displacement on a plain film of the abdomen. However, such radiologic findings are indirect and inconsistent, and only rarely do they visualize the spleen with certainty.
Although one of our patients dates back to 1954, Norell in 1957 was the first to report retrograde arteriography performed for the diagnosis of splenic trauma.3 Scattered case reports and small series of cases utilizing this approach have appeared in the literature since then.4-10 The largest group of which we are aware is that of