Splenic lymphangioma that manifested as a solid-cystic mass: A case report

Lymphangioma, a congenital malformation of the lymphatic system, is usually found in children, and generally occurs in the neck and mediastinum. It is rarely found in the spleen. The clinical features of splenic lymphangioma typically include abdominal pain, nausea, and abdominal distention. Frequently, however, this condition is asymptomatic and is incidentally detected by abdominal ultrasonography or by an abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan. In this paper, we retrospectively describe a case of incidentally detected splenic lymphangioma in a 30-year-old woman with special abdominal contrast material-enhanced CT findings, which was accurately diagnosed by histopathology. The clinical and physical examinations related to the mass were negative. A few cases of splenic lymphangioma have been reported previously; however, the presentation of the mass and the enhancement pattern in the contrast medium-enhanced CT images were quite extraordinary. These findings had misled our abdominal radiologists to consider it as other neoplastic diseases of the spleen. (C) 2013 Baishideng. All rights reserved.