PreOp Patient Education
Thursday, March 28, 2024

  Your Body
  Alternatives
  Medical Record
  Anesthesia
  Before Surgery
  Your Procedure
  Recovery

Spleen Removal

Laparoscopic Splenectomy


Your Body

This information is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor. MedSelfEd, Inc. disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.
NOTE: By viewing this site you have read and agreed to the DISCLAIMER.
Before we talk about treatment, let's start with a discussion about the human body and about your medical condition.

Your doctor has recommended that you undergo a Splenectomy - or spleen removal surgery. But what does that actually mean?
The spleen is one of the organs in your body that works to clean your blood.
The Spleen is located behind the stomach...
and to the left of the liver.
Specifically, the spleen picks out and destroys red blood cells that are no longer useful.
A Splenectomy is the surgical procedure used to permanently remove the spleen from the body.
Reasons for removing the spleen vary. Most spleen removal surgery is performed in an emergency situation, during which internal bleeding may be putting a patient's life at risk.
This program assumes, however, that you are not currently in an emergency setting. In your case, the reason for removing the Spleen may be to treat a blood disease, blood congestion, Gaucher's disease, white blood cell deficiency, the growth of a tumor, or the growth of cysts.
Occasionally the Spleen is removed as part of an action taken to determine the best course of treatment for Hodgkin's disease.
So make sure that you ask your doctor to carefully explain the reasons behind this recommendation.

  top of page next
Print Page

NOTE: By viewing this site you have read and agreed to the DISCLAIMER
- See legal or privacy section for your security and rights information -