Splenic‐gonadal fusion of the continuous type in an adult female

Abstract

The first case of a continuous type splenic-gonadal fusion in an adult female is described. This extremely rare anomaly occurs more often in the male where the abnormality may be associated with skeletal abnormalities or cryptorchidism. The few cases of splenic-gonadal fusion in the female previously described were found mainly in infants. The present case of splenic-gonadal fusion occurred as a duct, approximately 10 cm long, extending from the inferior pole of the spleen to a junction in the left ovarian suspensory ligament. The superior two-thirds of this tubular structure consisted of splenic tissue, while the caudal one-third of the duct was composed of fat and fibrous tissue. In addition, two blood vessels, an artery and a vein, were present throughout the entire length of duct, and were located extracapsullary to the spleen in the cranial portion of this anomaly. The patient had no associated malformations in contrast to the majority of patients with continuous-type splenic-gonadal fusions.

Female splenogonadal fusion: A PLEA for conservative management

“…13 Notably, all the involved ovaries had a normal gross appearance. Normal histology was also disclosed in the 3 ovaries analyzed post-mortem 11 , 12 or after hysteroannessiectomy. 9 One of the 2 remaining ovaries underwent splenic cord removal at surgery, 10 thus leaving only one case where splenogonadal fusion was untouched.…”

“… 6 , 7 , 8 In the remainder of cases, splenogonadal fusion was instead noted as an incidental finding during adolescence or adulthood (age range, 17–74 years). 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 Of these, 2 were discovered intraoperatively during an unrelated surgical intervention, 9 , 10 2 were found at autopsy, 11 , 12 and 1 at imaging performed for chronic constipation and abdominal pain. 13 Notably, all the involved ovaries had a normal gross appearance.…”

“…13 All reported female cases were of continuous type, apart from 1 ascertained case of discontinuous type 11 and one where it was difficult to establish whether a splenic-ovarian cord was present due to extensive pelvic adhesions. 9 Interestingly, nulliparity was disclosed in 2 cases, 9 , 12 while a motherhood status was indirectly reflected by 2 Cesarean sections acknowledged in the medical history of another case. 11 Therefore, to our knowledge, the present case represents the youngest living female to be diagnosed with splenogonadal fusion reported to date.…”

Splenogonadal fusion in a female: A case report of a rare congenital anomaly

“…Alujevic et al. [3] , described the first case of a continuous type splenogonadal fusion in an adult female, and they mentioned that many cases of the continuous type of splenogonadal fusion are associated with congenital malformations. Meneses [1] described a case of discontinuous type splenogonadal fusion in a female without associated anomalies.…”