Laparoscopic splenectomy for inflammatory pseudotumor of the spleen

We report two cases of inflammatory pseudotumor of the spleen treated by laparoscopic splenectomy. The first patient was a 61-year-old woman with a 3cm splenic tumor detected incidentally by ultrasonography. Computed tomography showed a well-demarcated splenic mass. She underwent hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy. The second patient was a 51-year-old man in whom a splenic tumor was found on follow-up computed tomography after resection of occipital malignant neurinoma. Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a splenic tumor, which showed no uptake on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Laparoscopic splenectomy was performed. The histopathological diagnosis was inflammatory pseudotumor in both cases. Their postoperative course was uneventful, with a postoperative hospital stay of 11 and 8 days, respectively. Splenectomy is usually performed in patients with splenic tumors because imaging techniques cannot exclude malignancy. Laparoscopic splenectomy may be a useful option for patients with splenic tumors.