Splenic visualization using 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate in a patient with sickle cell disease.

Splenic visualization with a bone-seeking agent 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) with absence of splenic uptake using sulfur colloid was seen in a 15-year-old boy in sickle cell crisis. Uptake of 99mTc-MDP is probably due to splenic infarction and calcification. This represents a potentially sensitive method for following the functional auto-splenectomy process in sickle cell disease and may also detect the presence of splenic tissue when it is not visualized in a sulfur colloid liver/spleen scan. Splenic visualization by bone-seeking agents should not be confused with skeletal lesions or indicate the presence of an abnormal left upper quadrant mass lesion.