Cerdán PR, Bernal JJ, Cantín BS, Paterna LS, Barranco DJI, Esarte MJM

Language: Spanish
References: 13
Page: 253-256
PDF size: 86.39 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To report a case of acute abdomen secondary to the torsion of a wandering spleen.
Setting: Third level health care hospital.
Case description: The wandering spleen is an uncommon entity. Congenital and acquired pathogenesis have been postulated, and they lead to the abscence of the splenic ligamentous attachments, giving rise to an excessive mobility with displacement of the spleen to abnormal locations in the abdominal cavity. The elongated vascular pedicle becomes the only zone of support of the organ, with constant risk of volvulation on this vascular axis. Torsion of a wandering spleen is rare and clinical presentation ranges from intermittent abdominal pain to patients with acute abdomen, depending on the degree of vascular torsion of the splenic pedicle. We report a case of a 15-year-old boy with acute torsion of a wandering spleen and analyze its clinical features, diagnostic methods, and therapeutic approaches.
Conclusion: Diagnosis of this clinical entity is difficult and needs a high degree of suspicion, which can give place to a therapeutic delay that compromises the viability of the organ.

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