Epidermoid Splenic Cysts

Abstract

• 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, nonparasitic cysts. The symptoms are completely relieved by splenectomy, and this remains the treatment of choice. (Arch Surg 112:596-599, 1977)