Spontaneous splenic rupture during Pringle maneuver in liver surgery.

During liver resection clamping of the hepato-duodenal ligament (the Pringle maneuver) is performed to reduce intraoperative blood-loss. During this maneuver acute portal hypertension may lead to spontaneous splenic rupture requiring rapid splenectomy in order to control blood loss. We present 2 case of patients with hemorrhage from the spleen during clamping for liver surgery. A review of the literature with an emphasis on the pathophysiology of splenic hemorrhage is presented.