Gastric necrosis after an infarction of the spleen: report of a case.

Gastric necrosis is a rare and often fatal condition. A few reports of gastric necrosis of various etiologies have been published in the literature. This report deals with a case in which gastric necrosis and perforation occurred several years after an infarction of the spleen. Preoperative computed tomography showed the existence of splenic vein thrombosis accompanying splenic infarction. A laparotomy revealed an 8-cm-long laceration with ragged margins in the posterior of the stomach along the greater curvature. Furthermore, massive venous thrombosis was found in the major omentum. As a result, the reduced arterial blood supply and insufficient venous drainage due to splenic venous thrombosis may have together played a major role in the development of gastric necrosis.