A ruptured spleen is a medical emergency that occurs as a result of a break in your spleen's surface. Your spleen, situated just under your rib cage on your left side, helps your body fight infection and filter old blood cells from your bloodstream.
A forceful blow to your abdomen — during a sporting mishap, a fistfight or a car crash, for example — is the usual cause of a ruptured spleen. If you have an enlarged spleen, a less forceful trauma might cause rupture. Without emergency treatment, the internal bleeding caused by a ruptured spleen can be life-threatening.
Some people with ruptured spleens need emergency surgery. Others can be treated with several days of hospital care.
Signs and symptoms of a ruptured spleen include:
- Pain in the upper left abdomen
- Tenderness when you touch the upper left abdomen
- Left shoulder pain
- Confusion, lightheadedness or dizziness
A spleen can rupture due to:
- Injury to the left side of the body. A ruptured spleen is typically caused by a blow to the left upper abdomen or the left lower chest, such as might happen during sporting mishaps, fistfights and car crashes. An injured spleen can rupture soon after the abdominal trauma or, in some cases, days or weeks after the injury.
- An enlarged spleen. Your spleen can become enlarged when blood cells accumulate in the spleen. An enlarged spleen can be caused by various underlying problems, such as mononucleosis and other infections, liver disease, and blood cancers.
A ruptured spleen can cause life-threatening bleeding into your abdominal cavity.
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