Abstract
Torsion of a wandering spleen is an uncommon diagnosis and rare in children. The entity is commonly misdiagnosed. In our case, a one month old infant presented with an abdominal mass. Ultrasound identified a large heterogeneous mass but also revealed what appeared to be normal splenic tissue below the left hemidiaphragm. The ultrasound findings steered us away from the diagnosis of wandering spleen or splenic infarction. Differential diagnosis of the mass included twisted hemorrhagic ovarian cyst, neoplastic mass, or inflammatory abscess. Postoperative histologic analysis demonstrated splenic infarction.
References
Abell I (1933) Wandering spleen with torsion of the pedicle. Ann Surg 90:722
Gordon DH, Burrell MI, Levin DC, Mueller CF, Becker JA (1977) Wandering spleen — the radiologic and clinical spectrum. Radiology 125:39
Pundaleeka SK, Zimmers TE, Nassos TP (1985) Splenic torsion presenting as a twisted hemorrhagic ovarian cyst. Ann Emerg Med 14:64
Stringel G, Soucy P, Mercer S (1982) Torsion of the wandering spleen: splenectomy or splenopexy. J. Pediatr Surg 17:373
Allen KB, Gibbs A (1989) Pediatric wandering spleen-the case for splenopexy: review of 35 reported cases in the literature. J Pediatr Surg 24:432
Bosniak MA, Byck W (1960) Wandering spleen diagnosed preoperatively by intravenous aortography. Am J Roengenol 84:898
Shiels WE, Johnson JF, Stephenson SR, Huang YC (1989) Chronic torsion of a wandering spleen. Pediatr Radiol 19:465
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Herman, Z.W., Friedwald, J.P., Donovan, C. et al. Torsion of a wandering spleen in a one month old, with a confusing ultrasound examination. Pediatr Radiol 21, 442–443 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02026685
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02026685