A healthy, 23-year-old, nulliparous woman presented with lower abdominal pain, which she reported having had intermittently for the previous year. She had no other symptoms of gastrointestinal distress. A peripheral-blood smear showed no Howell–Jolly bodies.
Physical examination revealed a palpable mass in the suprapubic region. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed displacement of the spleen from its normal position and a homogeneous soft-tissue mass (measuring 11.0 by 9.3 by 4.2 cm) in the pelvis. Imaging of the liver and spleen after injection of technetium-99m sulfur colloid (Panel A) revealed a normal liver and a well-defined area showing abnormal accumulation of radiotracer (arrow) in the lower abdomen.
Multislice computed tomography, with three-dimensional reconstruction of a coronal image (Panel B), revealed the position of the spleen in the pelvis (black arrow), with torsion of the elongated pedicle (white arrow).
Wandering spleen, or pelvic spleen, is an uncommon condition associated with laxity or malformation of the suspensory ligaments of the spleen. Splenic torsion and infarction are potential complications. The principal therapeutic options are splenopexy and splenectomy. After discussion of treatment options, the patient declined surgical intervention and has continued to do so in follow-up over the past 3 years.
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