A Case of Multiple Splenic Hamartoma

Chihiro Tanaka, Hirofumi Ohashi, Keiichi Misawa, Nobuaki Furuichi, Tsumio Yamamori, Hiroshi Uenishi, Toshiya Hibi, Tetsuya Sato

Department of Surgery, Gifu Prefectural Gifu Hospital

Hamartoma of the spleen is a rare disease. There have been only 56 reported cases in Japan. Nearly all were solitary, only 4 reports described multiple tumors. We recently treated a patient with multiple splenic hamartoma A 19-year-old female visited the hospital because of left hypochondrium pain. She was diagnosed as having a splenic tumor. The tumor was detected as a hyperchoic mass projecting from the hilus of the spleen on ultrasonography and as a low density area with an enhancement effect on computed tomography. Angiography revealed a tumor stain at the hilus of the spleen, and also mutiple nodular stains at surface and inner part of the spleen. Because it was difficult to make the final diagnosis and to exclude a malignant tumor, we performed splecectomy. In the resected specimen there were 7 yellowish nodules. The histological diagnosis was mixed splenic hamartoma. It is diffcult to make a preoperative diagnosis of splenic hamartoma, but conservative therapy should be considered in such a case showing solitary and typical image findings.

Key words
splenic tumor, splenic hamartoma, multiple splenic hamartoma

Reprint requests
Chihiro Tanaka Department of Surgery, Gifu Prefectural Gifu Hospital
4-6-1 Noishiki, Gifu, 500-8226 JAPAN

Accepted
February 12, 1998

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