Abstract
3/2020
vol. 6
Review paper
Intrahepatic splenosis: a world review
- MOH Holdings, Singapore
- Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
- Department of Pathology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
Clin Exp HEPATOL 2020; 6, 3: 185–198
Online publish date: 2020/09/30
Splenosis is defined as the autotransplantation of viable splenic tissue throughout various anatomic compartments. Intrahepatic splenosis (IHS) is rare and diagnosis is often challenging. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review on IHS. A literature review was performed on PubMed database. Fifty-six articles with 59 reported cases were included. The majority of the patients were male (n = 49, 83.1%). Median age was 51 years. Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) included hepatitis B (n = 8, 13.6%) and cirrhosis (n = 12, 20.3%). The majority of the patients were asymptomatic (62.7%) and did not have risk factors for HCC (55.9%). We report a diagnostic triad for IHS: 1) previous history of abdominal trauma or splenectomy, 2) absence of risk factors for liver malignancy and 3) typical imaging features. Non-invasive diagnostic tests such as technetium-99m-tagged heat-damaged red blood cell scintigraphy are useful in diagnosis. Malignancy should be ruled out in the presence of risk factors for HCC.
Keywords
intrahepatic splenosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, splenectomy, liver tumour, liver mass
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