Misdiagnosed intrapancreatic accessory spleens, report of nine cases

Abstract

Objective To promote the diagnostic accuracy of intrapancreatic accessory spleen (IPAS).Methods The clinical data of 10 cases of IPAS admitted in Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital from Apr 2005 to Dec 2013 were retrospectively analyzed.Results There were ten cases of IPAS confirmed pathologically.Only 1 of the ten cases was diagnosed correctly and definitely with IPAS preoperatively.The other 9 cases were misdiagnosed with benign or malignant pancreatic tumors,including nonfunctional neuroendocrine neoplasms in 5 cases,pancreatic neuroendocrine cancers in 3 and pancreatic intraductal adenocarcinoma in one.All the nine misdiagnosed patients has no specific symptoms or laboratory indexes.All the IPASs located in the tail of the pancreas with the mean diameter (1.3 ±0.2) cm(0.8-2.5 cm).7 cases of IPAS show strikingly similar dynamic enhancement to the spleen on the CT scans and/or MRI.Accessory spleen around the splenic hilum was found in five cases.Conclusions Morphological study plays an important role in the diagnosis and IPAS carries parallel dynamic enhancement to the spleen on CT scans and/or MRI.IPAS should be considered as a differential diagnosis while the lesion is no more than 2.5 cm in diameter and when other accessory spleens were shown around the splenic hilum. Key words: Choristoma; Diagnostic errors ; Pancreas ; Spleen ; Neuroendocrine tumors