title: Incidental finding of a splenic hamartoma with tumour-like extramedullary erythropoiesis.
abstract: Hamartomas of the spleen are rare benign tumour-like lesions that tend to be asymptomatic incidental findings. Splenic hamartomas with tumour-like extramedullary erythropoiesis are extremely rare. A 70-year-old male patient with dyspnoea and a nodular intrapulmonary lesion morphologically verified by CT underwent fibre bronchoscopy, which showed a pea-shaped foreign body that was retrieved without complication. As a secondary finding, the CT showed a splenic lesion of about 8 cm in size. An MR study showed an expansive process in the center of the spleen. The patient was completely free of clinical symptoms. Because of the unknown nature and the high risk for spontaneous rupture of the lesion, a splenectomy was performed. The histological analyses revealed tumour-like extramedullary erythropoiesis of the spleen. The patient was discharged in good condition ten days postoperatively. A hamartoma of the spleen with extramedullary tumor-like erythropoiesis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a splenic lesion.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. claudia.dolcet@medunigraz.at
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dolcet
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kornprat
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lindenmann
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beham-Schmid
authors.forename: Hans-Jörg
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Mischinger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006222:Hamartoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006411:Hematopoiesis, Extramedullary / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D013154:Spleen / Q000473:pathology; D013156:Splenectomy; D013158:Splenic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed