Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 20, Issue 12 1347-1351, Copyright © 2001 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Role of doppler sonography in the evaluation of accessory spleens after splenectomy
A. M. Herneth, P. Pokieser, M. O. Philipp, T. R. Bader, T. H. Helbich, R. Mallek and G. H. Mostbeck
Department of Radiology, University of Vienna, Austria.
OBJECTIVE: Splenectomy influences the Doppler blood flow pattern in the
splenic artery. Blood flow in this vessel might return to normal if an
accessory spleen increases in size after splenectomy. Our objective was to
evaluate the resistive index of the splenic artery depending on the
presence or absence of a hypertrophic accessory spleen in splenectomized
patients. METHODS: The resistive index of the splenic artery was evaluated
by duplex Doppler sonography in 19 splenectomized patients (8 with a
hypertrophic accessory spleen) and in 8 healthy volunteers. The resistive
index was measured within 3 cm of the origin of the splenic artery, and 3
different measurements were averaged. The presence or absence of a
hypertrophic accessory spleen was diagnosed on the basis of sonography,
computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or scintigraphy, as well
as by the presence or absence of Howell-Jolly bodies on a peripheral blood
smear. RESULTS: The resistive index of the splenic artery in the
splenectomized patients without a hypertrophic accessory spleen (mean +/-
SD, 0.82 +/- 0.06; n = 11) was significantly (P < or = .0001) higher
than in splenectomized patients with a hypertrophic accessory spleen (0.63
+/- 0.06; n = 8) and in control subjects (0.63 +/- 0.05; n = 8).
CONCLUSIONS: In the splenectomized patient, a hypertrophic accessory spleen
is associated with a normal resistive index in the splenic artery.
