Splenic tear causing a hemoperitoneum after cardiac surgery

Division of Cardiac Surgery, Papardo Hospital, Contrada Sperone 98120, Messina, Italy *Corresponding author. Fax: +39 090 399 3309. E-mail address : ceresa77{at}hotmail.com (F. Ceresa). Hemoperitoneum after cardiac surgery is a very rare but life-threatening complication. We have only found a few cases described in the literature, in which the intra-abdominal hemorrhages were caused by liver bleeding, due to direct hepatic trauma or spontaneous hepatic rupture. We describe the first case of hemoperitoneum caused by a spontaneous rupture of the spleen. Key Words: Hemoperitoneum; Cardiopulmonary bypass; Cardiac surgery