Laparoscopic splenopexy by peritoneal and omental pouch construction for intermittent splenic torsion ("wandering spleen").

Wandering spleen is an extremely rare anatomic variant with potentially serious clinical implications. Usually, splenectomy is advocated for treatment of this disease. Various methods for preserving the wandering spleen by means of splenopexy have been described, including two reports on laparoscopic splenic refixation. We describe the third case in which laparoscopic splenopexy was used to manage chronic intermittent splenic torsion. In a 25-year-old woman, splenopexy was successfully performed by laparoscopic reposition and fixation of the spleen by omental pouch creation. At laparoscopy with a normal operating room setup and four trocars, a free-floating, macroscopically normal spleen attached to an abnormally long vascular pedicle with no gastrosplenic or phrenicosplenic ligaments was detected in the lower right quadrant. The spleen was repositioned and placed in the left phrenorenal angle. Splenopexy was achieved by suturing the left colophrenic ligament to the lateral diaphragm, thus creating a pouch for the inferior part of the spleen, and by suturing the gastrocolic ligament to the anterior diaphragm to create a pouch for the upper splenic pole. The postoperative course was uneventful. At a follow-up examination 3 months after the operation, the patient was well, with no further episode of recurrent abdominal pain. Ultrasonographically, the spleen was seen easily in the left hypochondrium in its normal physiologic position. Laparoscopic splenopexy is a useful option for organ-preserving therapy of the wandering spleen.