Wandering spleen and its complications in children: a case series and review of the literature.
Wandering spleen is an uncommon clinical entity, which rarely affects children and adolescents. It is usually described in adults, especially women of childbearing age. Discussion in the literature has been limited to case reports and small case series. Here the authors present 2 children and 1 adolescent that presented to the authors institution over a 9-month period with complications from a wandering spleen. All 3 patients had very different clinical presentations, and this variety is a constant theme throughout the literature. We also identified an additional 127 cases of wandering spleen in patients younger than 21 years. In this report we discuss the clinical presentations, diagnostic evaluation, treatment options, and clinical outcomes as they relate to wandering spleen.
Brown
Carlos V R
CV
Division of Pediatric Surgery, Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA 92134, USA.
Virgilio
Gina R
GR
Vazquez
W David
WD
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D000328:Adult; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications; D002648:Child; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000150:complications; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D045822:Intestinal Volvulus / Q000209:etiology; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D013154:Spleen / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery; D013158:Splenic Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D013526:Surgical Mesh; D014102:Torsion Abnormality; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology