[Wandering spleen in children: report of 4 cases]

The occurrence of a wandering spleen is rarely referred to in the pediatric surgical literature. In the last three years we treated four patients with this anomaly. The first case had an acute abdominal problem associated to a wandering mass with spleen characteristics. The ultrasonography has confirmed the absence of spleen from its proper place. In the second case it was detected a mass with the same features of the first patient associated with choledochal cyst. In this case the ultrasound has demonstrated that spleen was the referred mass. In the third case a patient was submitted to a surgery with the preoperative diagnosis of ovarian torsion. The patient had an associated osteogenesis imperfecta. During the operation it was found that spleen was the referred mass. In the fourth patient the preoperative diagnosis was "abdominal mass". It is given an emphasis to the preservation of the spleen in wandering spleen, mainly in childhood, due to its immunological importance.