Thoracic splenosis mimicking thoracic schwannoma: case report and review of the literature.
BACKGROUND
Thoracic splenosis is a rare entity. It occurs sometime after splenic and diaphragmatic injury, and it is rarely symptomatic.


METHODS
We report a case of left upper thoracic paraspinal splenosis 25 years after a thoracoabdominal penetrating trauma that required a splenectomy. The pathology was suspected on a routine chest x-ray and it mimicked a schwannoma on magnetic resonance imaging. Less than 40 cases of thoracic splenosis were described in the literature, but few were misinterpreted as schwannoma.


CONCLUSIONS
Alertness to the possibility of thoracic splenosis can lead to confirmation of the diagnosis with technetium Tc 99m-tagged red blood cell radionuclide scanning based on a previous history of traumatic splenectomy.
Alaraj
Ali M
AM
Division of Neurosurgery, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut 11072020, Lebanon.
Chamoun
Roukoz B
RB
Dahdaleh
Nader S
NS
Sfeir
Pierre M
PM
Miski
Mohamad S
MS
Otrock
Zaher K
ZK
Skaf
Ghassan S
GS
D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013156:Splenectomy; D017890:Splenosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013899:Thoracic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013997:Time Factors; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000601:surgery*