Epidermoid splenic cysts
M. E. Ross, R. Elwood, S. S. Yang and R. J. Lucas
Five young women were treated by splenectomy for epidermoid cysts of the
spleen. They all had vague abdominal symptoms, and had a mass palpable in
the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. The hematologic indices were
unremarkable. The diagnosis was suggested by routine radiologic
examinations (including chest roentgenogram, upper gastrointestinal x-ray
series, barium enema, and excretory urogram). It was confirmed in one
patient by gray-scale ultrasonography, and in another by selective splenic
arteriography. Of the true cysts of the spleen, the epidermoid cyst is the
rarest, representing 10% of the benign, nonparaslitic cysts. The symptoms
are completely relieved by splenectomy, and this remains the treatment of
choice.
