Preoperative angioembolisation of a mediastinal accessory ectopic spleen: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

A 50-year-old male presented to our institution for embolization of an incidentally detected mediastinal mass prior to surgical resection. The patient had undergone extensive pre-procedural imaging as well as bronchoscopy and mediastinoscopy. Ultimately, resection was required for a definitive diagnosis of congenital ectopic mediastinal accessory spleen. This case represents the first reported incidence of ectopic splenic tissue in this location and illustrates the difficulties in establishing a pre-operative diagnosis with often confounding imaging findings.

Keywords

• Accessory spleen
• Congenital variant
• Interventional radiology
• Diagnostic radiology
• Mediastinal mass
• Angioembolization