What are the indications for splenectomy?
Your doctor may recommend splenectomy if you have one of the following:
- Ruptured spleen. If your spleen ruptures due to a severe abdominal injury or because of an enlarged spleen (splenomegaly), the result may be life-threatening, internal bleeding.
- Enlarged spleen.
- Blood disorder.
- Cancer.
- Infection.
- Cyst or tumor.
When is splenectomy needed in SCA?
Necessary splenectomy is done for a variety of reasons including acute splenic sequestration crisis, hypersplenism, massive splenic infarction and splenic abscess [3]. Splenic complications of SCD are associated with an increased morbidity and sometimes it may lead to mortality.
Which is the most common early complication following splenectomy?
Infections, particularly pulmonary and abdominal sepsis, constitute the majority of the complications. The mortality rate from postoperative sepsis is substantial. Atelectasis, pancreatitis/fistula, pulmonary embolism and bleeding at the operative site are also relatively common occurrences following splenic removal.
Which type of scan has the highest sensitivity for detecting vascular injury in the spleen?
Doppler US (DUS) has been reported as safe and effective in evaluating PSA or blush previously found at CT scan [14]. Contrast tomography (CT) scan is considered the gold standard in trauma with a sensitivity and specificity for splenic injuries near to 96–100% [10, 15, 16]. However, Carr et al.
What is the most common indication of splenectomy?
Splenomegaly (see the image below) is observed in conditions such as idiopathic (immune) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), and hereditary spherocytosis. Of these, ITP is the most common indication for elective splenectomy.
Does a splenectomy affect life expectancy?
Although the series of patients is small, it seems that splenectomy did not have an adverse effect on life expectancy. The haematological status and the quality of life improved after splenectomy in 17 of 19 patients.
What are the long term effects of a splenectomy?
As a result, splenectomy leads to a life-long increased risk of life-threatening septicemia or meningitis (OPSI), with a high mortality rate (>50%). We identified 4 cases of S pneumoniae infection; 2 occurred more than 10 years after splenectomy.
Can a cancerous spleen be removed?
A splenectomy is a surgical procedure in which all or part of the spleen is removed. A splenectomy can be done to treat both benign and cancerous conditions such as Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and some types of leukemia, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and hairy cell leukemia.
Is splenectomy a disability?
38 C.F.R. § 4.7. Under Diagnostic Code 7706, a splenectomy warrants a 20 percent disability rating. This diagnostic code also provides the instruction to rate complications such as systemic infections with encapsulated bacteria separately.
Why is spleen most commonly injured?
The most common cause of a ruptured spleen is blunt trauma to the abdomen, usually as the result of a road traffic collision. However, splenic rupture can occur due to sports injuries and physical assault. The spleen is the abdominal organ to which it is most likely an injury will occur during physical trauma.
What does a swollen spleen feel like?
An enlarged spleen typically causes no signs or symptoms, but sometimes it causes: Pain or fullness in the left upper belly that can spread to the left shoulder. A feeling of fullness without eating or after eating a small amount because the spleen is pressing on your stomach. Low red blood cells (anemia)
Can you live a long life without a spleen?
You can live without a spleen. But because the spleen plays a crucial role in the body’s ability to fight off bacteria, living without the organ makes you more likely to develop infections, especially dangerous ones such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Haemophilus influenzae.
