Symptomatic isolated thoracic splenosis 11 years after abdominal trauma – Case report

Abstract

Introduction Thoracic splenosis is defined as the autotransplantation of splenic tissue into thorax. It occurs due to splenic rupture in association with a diaphragmatic tear on the left side after a traumatic event. It is a rare disease that most commonly remains undiscovered as it is usually asymptomatic.

Case Outline We present a symptomatic case of thoracic splenosis in a 53-year-old smoker male patient with a medical history of abdominal surgery and splenectomy for a thoracoabdominal gunshot. Three years before the medical examination he was suffering from dyspnea, frequent coughing, left pleuritic chest pain and complained about faster fatigue. A chest radiograph obtained during a medical checkup showed a multinodular left pleura-based mass in the upper lobe. Established histopathological diagnosis after surgical removal of the nodule was splenosis. No evidence of malignancy was observed.

Conclusion Splenosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis by the undertaken workup of left pulmonary nodules or masses in patients with a history of trauma.

Keywords: symptomatic thoracic splenosis; splenectomy; thoracoabdominal gunshot