LAUSR

PURPOSE The splenic artery (SA) variations are rarely reported in the literature. Knowledge of the range of the splenic artery and other arterial anomalies and their specific frequencies is very important ever for every visceral surgeon as well as gastrointestinal bleeding, organ transplantation, transarterial chemoembolization of neoplasm, infusion therapy, therapeutic arterial ligation, iatrogenic injuries. At the literature, there are more studies on the coeliac trunk (CT), superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and hepatic artery variations, but studies on the splenic artery variations are uncommon. The studies on the splenic artery variations are mostly in the form of case reports, but there are not many studies with large population on this issue. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the SA alone and to determine the variations determined separately from the other arteries. Accurate awareness of all the possible anatomic variations is crucial in the upper abdomen surgery. METHODS Seven hundred fifty patients undergoing multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography between 2015 and 2017 were retrospectively evaluated about the splenic artery variations. We created a new classification system to determine anatomic variations of the splenic artery Results: Twenty-three different types were identified related to anatomic variations in the origin and branching pattern of the splenic artery. While 596 (79.47%) patients had the standard the SA anatomy, 154 (20.53%) patients had variant the SA. CONCLUSION The splenic artery has quite different variation types and knowledge of these variations are useful for the planning and conduct of surgical and radiological procedures of the upper abdomen, including laparoscopic operations. Our study is the first in the medical literature classifying variations in the origin and branching pattern of the splenic artery.