Spleen hematoma in a ferret: imaging and surgical findings

Spleen hematoma is not an uncommon pathology in the ferret, nevertheless it has been poorly described in literature. A 5,5 years old male neutered ferret was referred for anorexia and gastrointestinal disorders. Physical examination revealed a no painful moderate abdominal distension. Radiographic examination of the abdomen revealed a mass of 20mm in diameter in the spleen. A complete blood analysis was carried out and revealed a mild leukocytosis. The mass was further investigated by ultrasonography (US) that confirmed the presence of an hypoechoic rounded lesion within the splenic parenchyma. Differential diagnoses included spleen hematomas, coronavirus infection, lymphoma or lymphosarcoma. The size and morphology of the mass and the blood values has been monitored frequently by ultrasound and no fine needle aspiration was performed in order to avoid bleeding. To better characterize the lesion a multidetector Computed Tomography (CT) pre and post-contrast examination of the chest and abdomen was performed and revealed a huge intraparenchymal hypoattenuating mass in the apex of the spleen (35 mm in diameter), showing a mild enhancement on post-contrast sequences. Because of US and CT finding was suggestive of a benign infiltrative pathology, a splenectomy was recommended. Five days later the patient was admitted to surgery in emergency because the mass was lacerated spontaneously. The histologic examination of the mass confirmed a spleen hematoma. Spleen hematoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis in case of or nodular lesions or splenomegaly in the ferret.