Replaced right hepatic artery originated from splenic artery, in association with gastrosplenic trunk: a case report

The authors report a case of a 74-year-old woman found to have an extremely rare case highlighted by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography, with the presence of a replaced right hepatic artery (RRHA) arising from the splenic artery (SA). In this case, the SA arose from a gastrosplenic trunk (GST). The GST had an endoluminal diameter of 9.2 mm at its origin and a length of 9.3 mm. It arose directly from the anterior abdominal aortic wall, at the level of the T12–L1 intervertebral disc. The SA branched off from the GST and travelled in front of the abdominal aorta (AA) for 18.2 mm up to the level of the L1–L2 intervertebral disc. The SA then continued along an upward and tortuous path towards the splenic hilum. The inflection point of the SA trunk was located above the origin of superior mesenteric artery (SMA). The RRHA arose from the right of this inflection point. The RRHA had an endoluminal diameter of 3.0 mm at its origin and a length of 96.0 mm; it had a downward trajectory towards the hepatic hilum. The common hepatic artery (CHA) had an endoluminal diameter of 6.2 mm at origin and arose directly from the anterior wall immediately to the right of the mediosagittal plane of the AA. Knowledge of this rare anatomical variation is important for interventional radiologists, oncologists, hepatic and abdominal surgeons.