General | Clinical insights of the abdomen (cont.)
Tracks
Rm 5 | Virtual
General
| Saturday, May 30, 2026 |
| 4:40 PM - 5:15 PM |
| Rm 5 | First Floor |
Speaker
Dr Simon Freeman
Consultant Radiologist
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, UK
The spleen explained: Insights from a UK specialist
4:40 PM - 5:10 PMPresentation Synopsis / Abstract
Objectives:
1. To recognise and accurately diagnose ectopic splenic tissue with ultrasound
2. To increase confidence in constructing clinically useful reports for focal splenic lesions
3. To understand the great value that contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) adds in splenic imaging
The spleen has been called the "forgotten organ" because splenic pathology is usually clinically silent and is less common than pathology in most other abdominal organs. Ultrasound practitioners will, however, regularly encounter splenic abnormalities and this will usually be an unexpected finding.
In this talk we will review the appearances of ectopic splenic tissue (splenunculi and splenosis) and the threat that they can pose for diagnostic error. We will then consider focal splenic lesions, understanding that characterisation is often more difficult that for lesions in other abdominal organs (this applies to all imaging modalities), and that ultrasound is a very powerful tool for splenic evaluation. The importance of risk stratification in each individual patient when considering the relevance of an incidentally detected lesion will be emphasised. We will then develop an imaging algorithm for managing focal splenic lesions, showing where CEUS helps, and understand when other imaging modalities, particularly PET CT, can add additional value to US. The aim will be to increase your confidence in accurate report writing that includes recommendations for management that can help and guide the referring clinician.
1. To recognise and accurately diagnose ectopic splenic tissue with ultrasound
2. To increase confidence in constructing clinically useful reports for focal splenic lesions
3. To understand the great value that contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) adds in splenic imaging
The spleen has been called the "forgotten organ" because splenic pathology is usually clinically silent and is less common than pathology in most other abdominal organs. Ultrasound practitioners will, however, regularly encounter splenic abnormalities and this will usually be an unexpected finding.
In this talk we will review the appearances of ectopic splenic tissue (splenunculi and splenosis) and the threat that they can pose for diagnostic error. We will then consider focal splenic lesions, understanding that characterisation is often more difficult that for lesions in other abdominal organs (this applies to all imaging modalities), and that ultrasound is a very powerful tool for splenic evaluation. The importance of risk stratification in each individual patient when considering the relevance of an incidentally detected lesion will be emphasised. We will then develop an imaging algorithm for managing focal splenic lesions, showing where CEUS helps, and understand when other imaging modalities, particularly PET CT, can add additional value to US. The aim will be to increase your confidence in accurate report writing that includes recommendations for management that can help and guide the referring clinician.
Biography
Dr Simon Freeman |
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Dr Simon Freeman is a Consultant Radiologist at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and is one of the few remaining UK radiologists with a main subspecialist interest in non-obstetric ultrasound. He graduated from Middlesex Hospital Medical School and, after spending six years working in internal medicine, began his training in radiology in Bristol in 1991. Following a radiology fellowship in Leeds he was appointed to his current post in Plymouth in 1997. He has a varied ultrasound practice but with particular interests in uroradiology and ultrasound contrast agents. Simon has been a BMUS member for 25 years and worked for BMUS in many roles ultimately becoming Society President during 2017 and 2018. He has been a subcommittee member for the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) and guideline author for the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) and World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB). His research interests are predominantly related to ultrasound and uroradiology with more than seventy publications in peer-review journals. He is a regularly invited speaker at national and international conferences.
