Rare case of wandering spleen in patient with abdominal pain reported

Portugal: Splenic torsion is a rare but important differential diagnosis in patients presenting with acute abdomen, reveals a recent study in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports. So, the diagnosis should be made quickly before the development of life-threatening complications. Surgery becomes essential in such cases and splenopexy or splenectomy can be performed.

Wandering spleen is an unusual condition characterized by the hypermobile spleen. It is rare and is more common in children below 1 year of age and in the third decade of life. In the second peak, it is more frequent in females. Clinical manifestation can include asymptomatic to an abdominal emergency. It is treated often through surgery.

Charlène Marques Viana, Department of General Surgery, de Braga Hospital, Braga, Portugal, and colleagues present a case report of splenic torsion and a review of cases described in literature.

The case in question is of a 40 years old woman presenting with complaints of abdominal pain associated with nausea and vomiting.  A marked tenderness and a palpable abdominal mass on left hypochondrium were found as well as a slight increase in inflammatory parameters.