Management of Incidentally Diagnosed Splenic Masses

Abstract

The aim of this study is to consider the management of incidentally diagnosed splenic masses. Patients who underwent splenectomy between September 2005 and February 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. Patients with the history of lymphoproliferative disease were excluded. Radiologic evaluation was done in all patients. Preoperative tru-cut biopsies were performed on three patients. The patients were grouped according to the nature of the splenic mass such as cystic, benign, and malign lesions. The groups were compared according to age, gender, tumor size, and the number of lesions. There were 13 male and 12 female patients with the median age of 52 years (range 15–84 years). The final pathology revealed cyst in 7 patients (28.0%), benign lesion in 7 patients (28.0%), and malign lesion in 11 patients (44%). The results of tru-cut biopsies were similar with postoperative pathologies. Solitary lesions were detected in 15 patients, and there were multiple lesions in 10 cases. There was not a significant difference between the tumor sizes of malign vs. benign lesions (p = 0.42). Malignancy was a higher trend in multiple lesions (p = 0.06). Advanced radiologic imaging studies and more frequent and reliable use of percutaneous diagnostic procedures may limit the number of unnecessary splenectomies especially for benign lesions.