| splenectomy (SPL) in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation (LTx) may resolve specific problems related to the procedure itself, in case of functional and life-threatening clinical situations often occurring as a result of liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. METHOD: A single-center experience of ten splenectomies in a series of 180 consecutive adult liver transplant patients over a period of 6 yr is reported. The mean patient age was 46.8 /- 9.5 yr (range 25 57 yr). Indications for SPL were post-operative massive ascitic fluid loss (n = 3), severe thrombocytopenia (n = 3), acute intra-abdominal hemorrhage (n = 2), infarction of the spleen (n = 1), and multiple splenic artery aneurysms (n = 1). RESULTS: Extreme ascites production due to functional graft congestion disappeared post-SPL, with an improvement of the hepatic and renal functions. SPL was also effective in cases of thrombocytopenia persistence post-LTx, leading to an increase in the platelet count after about 1 wk. Bleeding episodes related to left-sided portal hypertension or trauma were also resolved. The rejection rate during hospitalization was 0%, and no other episodes were recorded in the course of the long-term follow-up. However, sepsis with a fatal outcome occurred in 4 patients, i.e. between 2 and 3 wk post-SPL in three cases and 1 yr after the procedure as a result of pneumococcal infection in the last case. Fatal traumatic cranial injury occurred 3 yr post-LTx in another case. Five patients (50%) are still alive and asymptomatic after a median follow-up period of 36 months. CONCLUSION: The lowering of the portal flow appears to resolve unexplained post-operative ascitic fluid loss as a result of functional graft congestion following LTx. However, because of the enhanced risk of SPL-related sepsis, a partial splenic embolization (PSE) or a spleno-renal shunt could be used as an alternative procedure because it allows us to preserve the immunological function of the spleen. SPL is indicated in case of post-transplant bleeding due to left-sided portal hypertension and trauma, spleen infarction, and to enable prevention of hemorrhage in liver transplant patients with multiple splenic artery aneurysms. Severe and persistent thrombocytopenia could be treated with PSE. Because the occurrence of fatal sepsis post-SPL is a major complication in LTx, functional disorders, such as ascites and thrombocytopenia, should be treated with a more conservative approach. ( info) |
2/104. Partial splenic embolization in beta-thalassemia major. A case report. Partial splenic arterial embolization was performed in a thalassemic child for hypersplenism manifested by splenomegaly, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia requiring frequent erythrocyte transfusion. During a follow-up period of 11 months, his hematological parameters improved significantly and the spleen size decreased. Partial splenic embolization could be an alternative therapy to surgical splenectomy for thalassemic children with hypersplenism. ( info) |
3/104. Partial splenic embolization in the treatment of hypersplenism. Transcatheter embolization of the spleen has been associated with serious complications, such as splenic abscess, rupture of the spleen, pneumonia, and septicemia. These complications, with their grave consequences, have prevented the use of this procedure as an alternative to operative splenectomy in selected cases. A detailed description of our method, which consists of partial splenic embolization, antibiotic prophylaxis, adequate pain control, and careful pre- and postembolization, is reported. Thirteen patients with hypersplenism were successfully treated with transcatheter partial embolization of their spleen. ( info) |
4/104. Massive splenic infarction in cirrhosis: report of a case with spontaneous disappearance of hypersplenism. A cirrhotic patient with massive splenic infarction is described. Celiac angiography showed normally opacified splenic artery and vein and a markedly enlarged spleen with large avascular zones. splenic infarction was associated with the spontaneous disappearance of a syndrome of hypersplenism. The spleen was surgically removed. Histological examination showed multiple thromboses of the small arterial and venous vessels. The cause of this infarct remained unclear. ( info) |
| We present a case report of a patient who had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and campylobacter fetus infection with a number of unusual clinical and microbiological features. The patient had prominent gastrointestinal symptoms, splenic infarction, splenomegaly with hypersplenism, and hemophagocytic histiocytosis in the spleen and lymph nodes; the organism displayed growth on Campy-selective blood agar, thermotolerance, and resistance to quinolones, piperacillin/tazobactam, ceftazidime, and erythromycin. ( info) |
| A 9-year-old girl with a 5-6-month history of abdominal distension and fever was found to have massive splenomegaly with features of hypersplenism. Apart from a strongly positive Mantoux test, all investigations for massive splenomegaly proved negative. splenectomy was carried out and histopathological examination of the spleen revealed granulomatous lesions suggestive of tuberculosis. The child improved after splenectomy and anti-tuberculous therapy and is doing well on follow-up. Splenic tuberculosis should be considered as an unusual cause of massive splenomegaly and hypersplenism. ( info) |
7/104. Locoregional intrasplenic chemotherapy for hypersplenism in myelofibrosis. A 79-year-old patient with post-polycythaemic myelofibrosis presented with severe hypersplenism. After splenic artery catheterization, cytosine arabinoside was given intrasplenically from November 1999 to March 2000 for 5 d/month at 10 mg/m2 and increased each month by 10 mg/m2. It was then administered by continuous infusion until June 2000, starting at 20 mg/m2/d and tapering by 5 mg/m2 every 2 weeks to a final daily dose of 5 mg/m2/d. The drug was then stopped. The spleen had decreased to one third of the initial volume. Clinical conditions and haematological indices improved substantially. Intrasplenic therapy could be a new therapeutic tool for hypersplenism in chronic idiopathic and post-myeloproliferative myelofibrosis. ( info) |
| A three-month-old girl was admitted to the hospital with a history of pallor. On physical examination, the liver was enlarged and a solid mass was palpated in the left abdomen. Laboratory evaluation revealed anemia and thrombocytopenia. bone marrow was hypocellular with reduced number of megakaryocytes. Radiographic findings and scintigraphic study of the long bones were consistant with osteopetrosis. In the imaging studies, including ultrasonography, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and scintigraphic study, an ectopic spleen expanded into the bony pelvis was observed. We report here unique case of infantile osteopetrosis associated with pelvic ectopic spleen. ( info) |
9/104. Complications of partial splenic embolization in cirrhotic patients. In recent years, partial splenic embolization (PSE) has been widely used in patients with cirrhosis and hypersplenism caused by portal hypertension. We investigated the complications associated with PSE cases seen in our hospital. Seventeen cases of liver cirrhosis that had undergone PSE were examined to investigate the complications associated with it. Mean infarcted area of the spleen was 66.2%. Leukocyte and platelet counts in 16 of 17 patients were seen to improve after PSE and persisted for at least one year. The most frequent side effects were abdominal pain (82.4%) and fever (94.1%). Severe side effects were seen in two of those 17 patients. One patient died from acute on chronic liver failure. The other patients contracted bacterial peritonitis and splenic abscess and needed drainage of splenic abscess before recovery. These two cases were in child-Pugh class B. In conclusions, PSE is a useful treatment for patients with cirrhosis and hypersplenism caused by portal hypertension. However, the possibility of severe complications, especially in patients with noncompensated cirrhosis, should be kept in mind. ( info) |
10/104. splenectomy in sarcoidosis: indications, complications, and long-term follow-up. BACKGROUND: Management of splenic enlargement due to sarcoidosis consists of primarily medical therapy with prednisone, methotrexate or antimalarial drugs. splenectomy is the last resort because of the concern about complications of surgery. AIM: This study was conducted to explore indications for splenectomy in sarcoidosis and to assess if complications associated with splenic removal were unacceptable. methods/RESULTS: 13 sarcoidosis patients had their spleens removed for one or more of the following four reasons: (1) Massive splenomegaly; (2) Severe hypersplenism; (3) Need for excluding lymphoma or malignancy; and (4) Precaution against splenic rupture. All patients received strict prophylactic protocol and were followed over a period ranging from 1 to 30 years. CONCLUSION: In this long term follow-up study none of the thirteen patients developed serious infections or sepsis. No deaths occurred that might be related to splenectomy. ( info) |