Published online Aug 21, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i31.5199
Revised: April 19, 2013
Accepted: May 8, 2013
Published online: August 21, 2013
Isolated metastases to the spleen from gastric carcinoma is very rare. Only a few cases have been reported in the literature. We herein present a case of isolated splenic metastases in a 62-year-old man, occurring 12 mo after total gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma. The patient underwent a laparoscopic exploration, during which two lesions were found at the upper pole of the spleen, without involvement of other organs. A laparoscopic splenectomy was performed. Histological examination confirmed that the splenic tumor was a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma similar to the primary gastric lesion. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient has been well for 9 mo, with no tumor recurrence. The clinical data of 18 cases of isolated splenic metastases from gastric carcinoma treated by splenectomy were summarized after a literature review. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of isolated splenic metastases undergoing laparoscopic splenectomy.
Core tip: Isolated metastases to the spleen from gastric carcinoma is very rare. We report a case of isolated splenic metastases in a 62-year-old man, occurring 12 mo after total gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma who underwent laparoscopic splenectomy. The patient has been well for 9 mo after surgery with no tumor recurrence. The clinical data of 18 cases of isolated splenic metastases from gastric carcinoma treated by splenectomy were summarized after a literature review. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of isolated splenic metastases undergoing laparoscopic splenectomy.