Thoracic splenosis mimicking thoracic schwannoma: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Background: Thoracic splenosis is a rare entity. It occurs sometime after splenic and diaphragmatic injury, and it is rarely symptomatic.

Case description: We report a case of left upper thoracic paraspinal splenosis 25 years after a thoracoabdominal penetrating trauma that required a splenectomy. The pathology was suspected on a routine chest x-ray and it mimicked a schwannoma on magnetic resonance imaging. Less than 40 cases of thoracic splenosis were described in the literature, but few were misinterpreted as schwannoma.

Conclusion: Alertness to the possibility of thoracic splenosis can lead to confirmation of the diagnosis with technetium Tc 99m-tagged red blood cell radionuclide scanning based on a previous history of traumatic splenectomy.