Haemosuccus pancreaticus due to true splenic artery aneurysm: a rare cause of massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding

"Haemosuccus pancreaticus" is an unusual cause of severe upper gastrointestinal bleeding and results from rupture of splenic artery aneurysm into the pancreatic duct. More commonly, it is a pseudoaneurysm of the splenic artery which develops as sequelae of pancreatitis. However, true aneurysm of the splenic artery without pancreatitis has rarely been incriminated as the etiologic factor of this condition. Owing to the paucity of cases and limited knowledge about the disease, diagnosis as well as treatment become challenging. Here we describe a 60-year-old male presenting with severe recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding and abdominal pain, which, after considerable delay, was diagnosed to be due to splenic artery aneurysm. Following an unsuccessful endovascular embolisation, the patient was cured by distal pancreatectomy and ligation of aneurysm.