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CASE REPORT
Isolated cystic lymphangiomatosis of spleen in an adult: a diagnostic conundrum
  1. Pavan Kumar1,
  2. Saket Kumar1,
  3. Nuzhat Husain2,
  4. Abhijit Chandra1
  1. 1Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
  2. 2Department of Pathology, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
  1. Correspondence to Professor Abhijit Chandra, abhijitchandra{at}hotmail.com

Summary

Lymphangiomatosis is a rare developmental disorder characterised by diffuse proliferation of anastomosing lymphatic channels (lymphangiomas). It is believed to result from anomalous lymphatic development and usually presents in childhood. It typically occurs as a part of systemic lymphangiomatosis and isolated organ involvement is rare. Only nine cases of isolated cystic lymphangiomatosis of spleen have been reported between 1990 and 2010. Tuberculosis is a significant health problem in India and varied forms of this disease are seen in clinical practice. Isolated splenic tuberculosis, though a rare entity, has been described in the Indian population. We present a case of isolated splenic lymphangiomatosis in a 42-year-old woman that was initially misdiagnosed as splenic tuberculosis and was treated accordingly. Unresponsive to medical treatment, the patient underwent splenectomy and on histopathological examination, cystic lymphangiomatosis was diagnosed. The patient’s symptoms resolved after surgery and she is doing well at a follow-up of 3 months.

  • Infections
  • TB and other respiratory infections
  • tropical medicine (infectious disease)
  • non-vascular

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Footnotes

  • Contributors PK, SK, AC: Concept and design. SK, PK AC: Performed surgical procedure. NH: Provided histopathological reporting and images.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.