The fatty spleen: Severe hypertriglyceridemia leading to splenomegaly in a child

Abstract

This report describes a 3-year-old male with splenomegaly that presented as an infant with pancreatitis, a pancreatic pseudocyst, and a liver nodule. The patient underwent prophylactic splenectomy at age 3 years due to rapid enlargement and increasing risk for traumatic hemorrhage. Pathology revealed lipid-laden histiocytes rather than stigmata of the expected diagnosis of sinistral hypertension from splenic vein thrombosis.

Keywords

• Splenomegaly
• Hypertriglyceridemia
• Splenectomy
• Pediatric lipid disorders
• Lipoprotein lipase deficiency