We report two cases of
inflammatory pseudotumor of the spleen treated by laparoscopic
splenectomy. The first patient was a 61-year-old woman with a 3cm splenic
tumor detected incidentally by ultrasonography. Computed tomography showed a well-demarcated splenic mass. She underwent hand-assisted laparoscopic
splenectomy. The second patient was a 51-year-old man in whom a splenic
tumor was found on follow-up computed tomography after resection of occipital malignant
neurinoma. Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a splenic
tumor, which showed no uptake on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Laparoscopic
splenectomy was performed. The histopathological diagnosis was
inflammatory pseudotumor in both cases. Their postoperative course was uneventful, with a postoperative
hospital stay of 11 and 8 days, respectively.
Splenectomy is usually performed in patients with splenic
tumors because imaging techniques cannot exclude
malignancy. Laparoscopic
splenectomy may be a useful option for patients with splenic
tumors.