Splenosis mimicking an extramural duodenal mass: A case report

Splenosis is a common disease, patients with splenosis are generally asymptomatic and therapy is not indicated. Splenosis is frequently observed in the abdomen and pelvic cavity and may mimic malignancy on imaging, often leading to unnecessary surgical intervention. The current study presents the case of a 55-year-old female patient, with a rare case of duodenal splenosis, who underwent unnecessary laparotomy due to a misdiagnosis of a malignant duodenal stromal tumor. Although splenosis was confirmed by intraoperative tissue biopsy, this mass was resected due to the lack of information with regard to this condition, an increased suspicion of progressive growth of the mass and chronic duodenal compression. The aim of this report is to raise the awareness of this entity in patients post-splenectomy, to avoid unnecessary surgery, particularly with an increased prevalence of patients with previous splenic trauma due to road traffic accidents. Therefore, the possibility of abdominal splenosis must be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with abdominal mass as the main clinical manifestation, where there is a history of splenic trauma or splenectomy and no other systemic symptoms. In the future noninvasive nuclear scintigraphy may serve as a suitable diagnostic approach for splenosis, thereby avoiding unnecessary laparotomies.