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Case Reports
. 2018 Jun 20;12(1):172.
doi: 10.1186/s13256-018-1712-1.

Splenogonadal fusion - a rare cause of scrotal swelling: a case report

Affiliations
Case Reports

Splenogonadal fusion - a rare cause of scrotal swelling: a case report

O Karray et al. J Med Case Rep. .

Abstract

Background: Splenogonadal fusion is a rare and benign condition. Diagnosis is challenging for clinicians. Despite its indolence, diagnosis is often confirmed after orchidectomy. Surgery is mandatory, particularly to rule out the extremely rare association with malignancy.

Case presentation: We report a case of splenogonadal fusion in a 38-year-old North African man presenting a palpable scrotal mass. We describe clinical aspects, pathogenic hypothesis, radiological features, as well as surgical management principles.

Conclusions: Splenogonadal fusion is rarely suspected and diagnosed preoperatively. A diagnosis is made once an ectopic testicular mass is associated with cryptorchidism and suggestive radiological signs. A better knowledge of the clinical and radiological features of splenogonadal fusion provides an opportunity for conservative surgery.

Keywords: Congenital abnormalities; Orchiectomy; Spleen; Testis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

No ethics committee approval is required at our institution for a case report involving a limited number of patients.

Consent for publication

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying image. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scrotal ultrasound: poorly vascularized mass appended to the upper pole of the left testis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Operative specimen: left inguinal orchiectomy
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The macroscopic aspect of the suspect mass looks similar to splenic tissue
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Histology of the operative specimen: regular splenic proliferation, independent from the testis and its adnexa. Splenic tissue is on the right, limited with a regular capsule. Testicular parenchyma is on the right, with an intact albuginea

References

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