Post-traumatic intrathoracic splenosis and role of Tc-99m Sulfur colloid scintigraphy in confirmation

Splenosis is acquired ectopic splenic tissue, usually a sequela of trauma. Its imaging appearance is can be deceiving, and at unusual locations may be mistaken for an alternate cause mass lesion. We present one such unusual case of splenosis in a 53 year-old man with history of heart failure involvi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Harpreet Sawhney, MD, Darshan Gandhi, MD, Gaurav Parmar, MD, Muhamad Serhal, MD, Frank H. Miller, MD FACR, Michael Magnetta, MD, MS
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-09-01
Series:Radiology Case Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1930043321004441
Description
Summary:Splenosis is acquired ectopic splenic tissue, usually a sequela of trauma. Its imaging appearance is can be deceiving, and at unusual locations may be mistaken for an alternate cause mass lesion. We present one such unusual case of splenosis in a 53 year-old man with history of heart failure involving the thoracic cavity identified as splenosis on nuclear medicine imaging and suspicion was raised given the remote history splenectomy after splenic rupture during trauma. We will discuss the imaging appearances of splenosis on CT, MRI and nuclear medicine studies, with emphasis on using nuclear medicine as a modality of choice to avoid biopsy. We will also go on to include a brief review of literature on this topic in this article. The key facts are role of detailed clinical history and requirement of high index of suspicion to avoid unnecessary intervention in the case of splenosis.
ISSN:1930-0433