Torsion of a wandering spleen in a one month old, with a confusing ultrasound examination

Abstract

Torsion of a wandering spleen is an uncommon diagnosis and rare in children. The entity is commonly misdiagnosed. In our case, a one month old infant presented with an abdominal mass. Ultrasound identified a large heterogeneous mass but also revealed what appeared to be normal splenic tissue below the left hemidiaphragm. The ultrasound findings steered us away from the diagnosis of wandering spleen or splenic infarction. Differential diagnosis of the mass included twisted hemorrhagic ovarian cyst, neoplastic mass, or inflammatory abscess. Postoperative histologic analysis demonstrated splenic infarction.