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Laparoscopic Splenectomy

What is Laparoscopic Splenectomy?

Splenectomy is a surgical procedure to remove your spleen. The spleen is an organ that sits under your rib cage on the upper left side of your abdomen. It helps fight infection and filters unneeded material, such as old or damaged blood cells, from your blood.

Now, you must be thinking that if it is such an important organ then why remove it. Well, the main reason behind spleen removal is when there is a disease involving the spleen, or if the spleen is ruptured due to trauma and is bleeding inside.
This procedure can be done by a keyhole technique called laparoscopic splenectomy.

Splenectomy is most commonly performed using a tiny video camera and special surgical tools (laparoscopic splenectomy). With this type of surgery, you may be able to leave the hospital the same day and recover fully in two weeks.

laparoscopic-splenectomy

Why is Laparoscopic Splenectomy done?

Splenectomy is used to treat a wide variety of diseases and conditions. 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 Splenectomy may be done to ease the symptoms of an enlarged spleen, which include pain and a feeling of fullness.
  • Blood disorder Blood disorders that may be treated with splenectomy include idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, polycythemia vera and thalassemia. But splenectomy is typically performed only after other treatments have failed to reduce the symptoms of these disorders.
  • Cancer Cancers that may be treated with splenectomy include chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and hairy cell leukemia.
  • Infection A severe infection or the development of a large collection of pus surrounded by inflammation (abscess) in your spleen may require spleen removal if it doesn't respond to other treatment.
  • Cyst or Tumor Noncancerous cysts or tumors inside the spleen may require splenectomy if they become large or are difficult to remove completely.

What happens during a Laparoscopic Splenectomy?

You will be given general anesthesia a few minutes before surgery so you are asleep and do not feel pain while the surgeon is working on you. Laparoscopic splenectomy is done using an instrument called a laparoscope. This is a slender tool with a light and camera on the end. The surgeon makes three or four small cuts in the abdomen, and inserts the laparoscope through one of them.

This allows the doctor to look into the abdominal area and locate the spleen. Different medical instruments are passed through the other openings. One of them is used to deliver carbon dioxide gas into the abdominal area, which pushes nearby organs out of the way and gives your surgeon more room to work. The surgeon disconnects the spleen from surrounding structures and the body's blood supply, and then removes it through the largest surgical opening. The surgical openings are closed using stitches or sutures.

What are the post-operative precautions after Splenectomy?

After surgery, you will stay in the hospital for a while so doctors can monitor your condition. You will receive fluids through a vein, called an intravenous (IV) line, and pain medications to ease any discomfort.

How long you stay in the hospital depends on which type of splenectomy you have. If you have an open splenectomy, you may be sent home within one week. Those who have a laparoscopic splenectomy are usually sent home sooner. It will take about four to six weeks to recover from the procedure.

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