[Epidermoid cyst of the spleen in a newborn infant. Prenatal diagnosis and partial splenectomy].

Non parasitic splenic cysts are an uncommon clinical and pathologic entities, out of these, epitelias splenic cysts (ESC) occurred in 10% of cases. Until recently the treatment of choice for the large ESC consisted of splenectomy. Splenic preservation, for avoiding risks of sepsis, is a modern concept uniformly accepted for treating childhood splenic injury and benign pathology. The Authors report a case of prenatal diagnosis of large left upper quadrant mass that was apparent at Ultrasonography (US) at 32th week of gestational age. Laparotomy at 3rd day of life: a large cyst splenic mass was found (7 x 7 cm), it was situated all in lower pole. Partial splenectomy was performed; cysts were not found in other organs. Histology of specimen: ESC. The postoperative course was uneventful. Postoperative (6 months) Scintigraphy demonstrated the good vascularization of the spleen.