"Rosary of Testes": Splenogonadal Fusion in Association with Bilateral Abdominal Testes Presenting as Polyorchidism.

Pejman Shadpour,Behkam Rezaimehr

doi:10.1155/2015/317189

Pejman Shadpour, Behkam Rezaimehr

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/317189

Copy DOI

Abstract

Polyorchidism is a rare anomaly where early segmentation in the gonadal ridge can lead to the development of three or less commonly four testes in one individual. Just over 150 reports of this phenomenon exist in English medical literature. However, once confronted by the clinical finding of supernumerary gonads, one must remain mindful of other likely diagnoses involving nontesticular origin. We report on a male patient with bilaterally impalpable testes in whom splenogonadal fusion mimicked polyorchidism. By keeping such differential diagnoses in mind, surgeons are more liable to take the appropriate intraoperative course of action.

Highlights

Splenogonadal fusion is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by the presence of splenic tissue adjacent to a gonad, which usually presents as an incidental finding during exploration for inguinal hernia, cryptorchidism, or less commonly a mass [1], sometimes coinciding with infertility [2]
It has been classified into continuous and discontinuous types based on attachment to the spleen
We report on a young adult with bilateral impalpable testes in whom multiple encapsulated ovoid structures resembling multiple testes were found during laparoscopic exploration

Summary

Introduction

Splenogonadal fusion is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by the presence of splenic tissue adjacent to a gonad, which usually presents as an incidental finding during exploration for inguinal hernia, cryptorchidism, or less commonly a mass [1], sometimes coinciding with infertility [2]. It has been classified into continuous and discontinuous types based on attachment to the spleen. We report on a young adult with bilateral impalpable testes in whom multiple encapsulated ovoid structures resembling multiple testes were found during laparoscopic exploration These distinctively separate splenic bodies led up to the spleen in significant contradiction to the firmly held notion that only discontinuous tissue shall condense into free standing structures

Case Report

Discussion

Conflict of Interests