Introduction.

Splenunculus has been described with an overall incidence of 10 to 30%. It can be an entity of congenital or acquired origin, it is frequently associated with abdominal trauma or a history of splenectomy for various reasons.

Clinical case.

Middle-aged woman, with a history of abdominal trauma and splenectomy due to traumatic rupture, who 30 years later presents with abdominal pain. Imaging studies identified a solid intrapancreatic mass.

Results.

She was taken to OR for distal pancreatectomy. The histological and immunohistochemical findings confirmed that the pancreatic mass corresponded to an acquired intrapancreatic splenunculus, associated with the previous traumatic event.

Conclusion.

Splenuncles usually constitute an “incidentaloma”. Imaging studies are limited, since computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography present similar imaging characteristics with hypervascularized pancreatic tumors, so histopathological study must be included during their evaluation. This entity should be included in the differential diagnoses, with greater emphasis on those patients with a history of abdominal trauma and associated splenectomy, a scenario in which this lesion can simulate a solid neoplasm of the pancreas, with malignant characteristics.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )