Epidermoid cyst of the spleen in the laparoscopic era.

fl uid content ( fi g. 2 ). This fi nding excluded the diagnosis of a hematoma and suggested the hypothesis of hydatidosis or congenital cyst of the spleen. Echinococcosis antibodies were negative so a defi nite diagnosis could not be made and surgical treatment was required. The splenectomy was performed by laparotomy. The spleen weighed 1,080 kg and the fl uid inside it was turbid and yellow in L.P.A., a 13-year-old girl, presented with left upper abdominal pain due to an accidental fall. Ultrasonography (US) showed a cystic mass which appeared to be a hematoma, but the patient was hemodynamically stable. Spiral computer tomography (CT) showed a 20-cm cystic mass of the spleen occupying almost all the splenic parenchyma ( fi g. 1 ). The cyst was septed with smooth wall and Published online: April 14, 2005