Doctors at Shanghai's Renji Hospital diagnosed a female patient with a rare benign disease of the spleen via high-end ultrasound technology.

A 36-millimeter mass was discovered on the spleen of the woman, aged 42, during a health check-up last year. She went to several well-known hospitals for further analysis, and doctors suspected the mass was a hemangioma, requiring close monitoring.

During another check this year, the mass was found to have grown larger, indicating a possibility of cancer. The woman was frightened and went to Renji Hospital to see doctors there.

Dr Jiang Lixin, director of the ultrasound medicine department, received the patient and conducted a detailed check and ruled out the possibility of hemangioma. He carefully studied the case and confirmed it was sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation (SANT) of the spleen, a very rare benign disease. It is usually found among middle-aged woman and most cases have no symptoms.

Though it is a benign disease, doctors suggest surgery as some patients with this condition may suffer from anemia.

The patient has now undergone surgery and pathological examination has confirmed that the condition was indeed SANT, the hospital said.

Dr Jiang Lixin conducts an ultrasound check on the patient.

Source: SHINE