Lacerated Spleen: How Long Will Sean Avery Take To Recover?

Star hockey player Sean Avery was rushed to the hospital last night and is out for the rest of the NHL playoffs after suffering a lacerated spleen in last night's playoff game. Just what is a lacerated spleen? Read on for more information.

Here is a diagram of a lacerated spleen.

eMedicine gives a general description of a lacerated spleen:

Compared with other injuries, blunt injury to the spleen has a more deceptive and subtle presentation. Abdominal tenderness and distention are apparent in approximately 50% of patients, and hypotension is a presenting symptom in only 25-30% of patients. The patient's age and medical background also dictate the presentation and workup. The older, less healthy patient has a tendency to develop rapidly progressive hemodynamic instability, as compared with the younger, healthy patient. However, patients in unstable condition are not referred to the radiology department for diagnosis. Instead, they usually undergo peritoneal lavage, are referred for surgery, or both.

Patients with blunt abdominal trauma who are hemodynamically stable and who have minor or no symptoms can be found to have splenic injury radiographically, which is not to say that the workup serves little purpose. Diagnosing splenic trauma before the patient becomes significantly symptomatic is imperative. With the exception of splenic avulsion or shatter, lesser degrees of splenic rupture classically result in a delayed presentation with increased morbidity and mortality. Stable patients with splenic rupture require prompt diagnosis so that treatment can be initiated before systemic compromise ensues. In fact, the conservative treatment of splenic rupture has gained favor over recent years, and radiographic evaluation is more important now than ever. The role of the radiologist has continued to expand along with the data concerning splenic injuries and treatment options.