CT appearance of capillary and cavernous lymphangiomatosis of the spleen in an adult

Lymphangiomas of the spleen are rare benign neoplasms with clinical manifestations ranging from insignificant incidental findings to large, symptomatic masses. Usually patients are asymptomatic but may occasionally present with hypersplenism or complaints due to a mass effect on adjacent organs. Lymphangiomas occur either as solitary or multiple lesions. They may diffusely involve the entire spleen. The latter condition is called splenic lymphangiomatosis. This disease occurs principally in children and rarely becomes manifest after the age of 20. Lymphangiomas are classified as one of three types: capillary, cavernous or cystic. Whereas the radiographic findings of the cystic form have been well described, the radiological diagnosis of the capillary and cavernous forms may present substantial difficulty. To our knowledge, up-to-date computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) features of splenic cavernous and capillary lymphangiomatosis have not been described before.