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PurposeThe aim of this study was to assess the mean value of spleen stiffness measured by Shear wave elastography in healthy patients and its dependence on age, sex, and spleen dimensions, and to evaluate the repeatability of this method.MethodsThe final study group included 59 healthy volunteers without any clinical evidence of liver disease, portal hypertension, hematological disorders, and without any pathological ultrasonographic spleen findings. Each patient underwent abdominal ultrasound examination and elastography of the liver and the spleen.ResultsThe mean value of spleen stiffness was 16.6 ± 2.5 kPa. In the group of men (N = 25), it was 17.3 ± 2.7 kPa, and in the group of women (N = 34), it was 16.1 ± 2.2 kPa. The study confirmed no correlation between spleen stiffness and sex, age of patients, and spleen size. Coefficient of repeatability and correlation coefficient between the results of the first and the second measurement showed good but not ideal repeatability of the measurement results.ConclusionOur outcomes may be a reference point for evaluating spleen stiffness in research on patients with various illnesses.

SummaryBackgroundThe term fibromatosis or desmoid tumor refers to a group of benign fibrous growths without metastatic potential but with a significant risk of local recurrence. These lesions typically present infiltrative growth pattern with local invasion of adjacent tissues. This tendency is the reason for a relatively high rate of local recurrence, even after surgical removal. Fibromatosis is a very rare condition in general population but occurs more frequently in one of the familial cancer predispositions known as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or Gardner syndrome. There are two main groups of fibromatosis: superficial (small, slow-growing lesions) and deep, also known as aggressive fibromatosis (large, rapid-growing lesions).Case ReportWe report a case of a 6-year-old boy suffering from an aggressive form of fibromatosis. The patient developed a large pathological mass extending from the neck to the loins. After incisional biopsy and histpoathological examination of the sample, a diagnosis of aggressive fibromatosis was established. During the whole diagnostic process, different imaging techniques including CT, MRI and sonoelastography were used. As the surgical treatment was not possible, the patient was finally qualified for chemotherapy.ConclusionsEventual diagnosis of aggressive fibromatosis is based on histopathological examination. However, it is an important condition that should be included in differential diagnosis of soft-tissue masses found in diagnostic imaging. Radiologists should be careful especially in defining the margins of infiltration in case of potential surgical treatment.

Background. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is a useful tool for the evaluation of focal lesions in the liver or kidneys, as well as for the diagnosis and assessment of the liver fibrosis process. Some reports show that the spleen and kidneys may serve as reference organs in the staging of liver fibrosis or the evaluation of focal liver lesions.