Power Doppler sonographic diagnosis of torsion in a wandering spleen

A wandering spleen is a rare clinical entity resulting from congenital mald evelopment or acquired laxity of the spleen's suspensory ligaments; it may result in torsion of the spleen. We report the gray-scale sonographic, powe r Doppler sonographic, and CT findings in a case of wandering spleen torsio n. The gray-scale sonograms showed a displaced spleen that appeared as a ho mogeneous, hypoechoic mass suggestive of an enlarged, ectopic spleen in the central abdomen. Power Doppler sonograms showed no blood flow in the paren chyma or hilum of the spleen and were consistent with torsion and infarctio n in the spleen. Contrast-enhanced CT scans showed a homogeneous, unenhance d mass that was diagnosed as a torsioned wandering spleen. The hilar vessel s of the spleen were also unenhanced. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.