Symptoms

Since a liver rupture is not spontaneous, but in most cases traumatic, the affected person often reports an incident, such as a blow to the abdomen or an accident. By this accident, the bleeding and the tear of the liver capsule it comes besides to partly strong upper abdominal pain right. If there is a strong bleeding into the abdominal cavity, swelling in the abdomen and bruising can occur.

If the blood in the free peritoneal cavity causes peritonitis, the result is severe pain and a hard abdominal wall. The loss of blood in the abdominal cavity, which can amount to several liters when larger vessels rupture, can lead to a drop in blood pressure and circulatory weakness, even to unconsciousness and cardiac arrest due to the reduced supply to vital organs such as the heart and brain. Therefore, if severe upper abdominal pain, bruising or dizziness and weakness occur after abdominal trauma, a doctor should always be consulted immediately.

This doctor already has a suspicion based on the patient’s story and condition, which he can quickly confirm with an ultrasound examination of the abdomen. In this way it can also be assessed how quickly action is required and whether, for example, immediate emergency surgery is indicated. A ruptured liver typically causes severe pain.

This is usually felt in the right upper abdomen and can also be crampy. In some cases, the pain is also localized deeper in the lower abdomen or higher in the chest area. In the case of a liver rupture, the symptoms are usually directly related to a triggering event that led to the damage to the organ, such as a blunt abdominal injury. In the further course of the disease, bile leaking into the abdominal cavity can also lead to peritonitis, which is also associated with severe pain throughout the entire abdomen.

Liver and spleen rupture

Both the liver and spleen can tear through a sudden violent impact on the body. This can happen, for example, in a traffic accident or a severe sports injury. Martial artists who can suffer a rupture of the spleen or liver as a result of a violent kick or blow to the upper abdomen are particularly at risk.

Likewise, this type of injury occasionally occurs in riders when they fall from a horse. Only in very rare and particularly severe cases are the liver and spleen affected simultaneously. The rupture of the spleen is generally more common than the rupture of the liver. Both organ injuries can lead to life-threatening internal bleeding within a short period of time, so that surgery is usually necessary as soon as possible.