Oncologic Surgical Emergencies: Spleen

Splenic oncologic emergencies are rare and usually occur due to atraumatic splenic rupture in the setting of splenomegaly secondary to hematologic malignancies, primary splenic cancers, or metastatic disease. Diagnosis and management of these emergencies follow a similar paradigm to the patient suffering from blunt splenic trauma. While angioembolization and laparoscopic splenectomy may be used in select patients, open splenectomy remains the mainstay of treatment.