Ultrasonography-guided Percutaneous Interventional Procedures of the Spleen

Since the introduction of real-time ultrasonography (US) to the medicine in late 1970s, the unique benefit of the real-time cross-sectional imaging has made US one of the most widely used imaging modalities to guide interventional procedures. Among the intra-abdominal solid organs, the spleen is the least common solid organ considered for interventional procedures. Although splenic puncture for splenoportography was performed as early as the 1950s and has had a low complication rate, traditionally a direct splenic puncture is still avoided due to the risk of hemorrhage or laceration. US-guided percutaneous drainage of splenic abscesses has been used as a safe alternative procedure for more than 20 years, however, only a few series reporting such an interventional procedure have been published. This review describes briefly the usefulness, technique, safety, and the outcome of US-guided interventional procedures of the spleen.