Splenic pseudoaneursym as the cause of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding in a woman with diffuse scleroderma

A 67-year-old woman with a 15-year history of intestinal scleroderma presented with recurrent melena. Upper endoscopies revealed a healing, non-bleeding, large gastric ulcer. After the third bleed, angiography demonstrated bleeding from a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm adjacent to the gastric ulcer. Scleroderma patients are at risk of bleeding from esophagitis or gastric arteriovenous malformations, while splenic artery pseudoaneurysms are primarily attributed to pancreatitis and trauma. This is the first reported case of gastrointestinal bleeding from a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm in a patient with intestinal scleroderma and a large gastric ulcer.