Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2019 Sep 4;9(3):111.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics9030111.

A Multinodular Mass of Abdominal Splenosis: Case Report of Uncommon Images of a Rare Disease

Hiroyuki Matsubayashi  1 , Etsuro Bando  2 , Hiroyasu Kagawa  3 , Keiko Sasaki  4 , Hirotoshi Ishiwatari  5 , Hiroyuki Ono  6
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Multinodular Mass of Abdominal Splenosis: Case Report of Uncommon Images of a Rare Disease

Hiroyuki Matsubayashi et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

Splenosis is a rare disease which typically forms single or multiple round masses. A 45-year-old male was referred for investigation of an abdominal mass. He had a history of splenic injury from a traffic accident at age 19. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a well-enhanced, multi-nodular mass lesion, 3.5 cm in size, located below the stomach. An endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNAB) for the mass was inconclusive. A surgery was performed, and pathology of the resected mass confirmed splenosis. Clinicians must bear in mind the possibility of occurrence of splenosis after splenic trauma and its image variations.

Keywords: EUS-FNA; abdominal splenosis; diagnosis; multi-nodular mass; splenic injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. A written informed consent was obtained from the patient.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Computed tomography (CT) showing spreading original spleen tissue and an enhanced multinodular lesion (arrow) located anterior to the pancreas body, 35 mm in size, with a vascularity level similar to that of the original spleen at 40 s (a) and 70 s (b) after contrast injection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). T1-weighted image (a) and T2-weighted image (b) demonstrating a low-intensity signal similar to that of the spleen. Enhanced MRI showing a similar enhancement level in the lesion and the spleen (30 s after contrast injection) (c). Diffusion-weighted image showing a mass lesion with a heterogeneous diffusion level among multiple nodules (d) (thin arrows indicating the lesion and thick arrows indicating the original spleen).
Figure 3
Figure 3
18F-fluorodeoxy-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) showing a faint uptake at the lesion (arrow).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) demonstrating a mass lesion composed of multiple aggregated low-echoic nodules.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Pathology of the resected material. Tissue slices showing a brownish mass lesion consisting of multiple mm-sized nodules adhering to the colonic mesentery (a). Low-power view (b) and high-power view (c) of the brownish area, showing white pulp, red pulp, and trabecular lienis (Hematoxylin & Eosin staining).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Leitz E.M., Kwan S.W. Splenosis: A rare cause of gastrointestinal bleeding successfully treated with transarterial embolization. Clin. J. Gastroenterol. 2015;8:126–129. doi: 10.1007/s12328-015-0567-x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Xiao S.M., Xu R., Tang X.L., Ding Z., Li J.M., Zhou X. Splenosis with lower gastrointestinal bleeding mimicking colonical gastrointestinal stromal tumour. World J. Surg. Oncol. 2017;15:78. doi: 10.1186/s12957-017-1153-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Reinglas J., Perdrizet K., Ryan S.E., Patel R.V. Splenosis involving the gastric fundus, a rare cause of massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding: A case report and review of the literature. Clin. Exp. Gastroenterol. 2016;9:301–305. doi: 10.2147/CEG.S91835. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Priola A.M., Picciotto G., Priola S.M. Diffuse abdominal splenosis: A condition mimicking abdominal lymphoma. Int. J. Hematol. 2009;90:543–544. doi: 10.1007/s12185-009-0454-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tandon Y.K., Coppa C.P., Purysko A.S. Splenosis: A great mimicker of neoplastic disease. Abdom. Radiol. 2018;43:3054–3059. doi: 10.1007/s00261-018-1601-5. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources