Advanced
Spleen Operation
Surgery in Hyderabad

Spleen Operation: Pre-Op & Post-Op Care

Splenectomy requires extensive pre-operative care, intra-operative care, and post-operative care to make the patient safe and immune to long-term infection and diseases. Because of the importance of the spleen as an organ, especially in the maintenance of immunity and the immune system, post its removal, a patient needs to take necessary precautions lifelong.

Before The Start Of Splenectomy

Pre-operative care for splenectomy focuses on examination of the patient, education, and vaccination to avoid infections after surgery.

Evaluation and optimization involve a complete physical examination of the patient, blood tests, and imaging of the patient’s overall health. Any disorders related to blood are taken care of before surgery. Management of medicines involves blood thinners like aspirin, and the patient is either instructed to fix the dose or completely avoid them.

Vaccination before splenectomy surgery is the most important step, especially in elective splenectomy, which is the removal of the spleen in non-emergency cases.

Patients receive vaccines against the pneumococcus bacteria that cause pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae type B, Meningococcus that causes meningitis, and annual influenza and COVID-19 vaccine shots.

For surgeries that are planned previously, vaccines are given several weeks before to build immunity.

The healthcare team then educates the patient on the procedure, the recovery process, and the lifelong risk of the infection. Patients are usually advised to quit smoking for ease of recovery and better healing.

Intra-operative Care – Splenectomy Procedure

During the splenectomy surgery, care is taken that the technique is conducted with proper focus, controlling hemorrhage, and not causing any harm or damage to the nearby organs. A splenectomy can be performed as both open and laparoscopic surgery.

General anesthesia is then given, and a nasogastric tube and a Foley catheter may be placed. Prophylactic antibodies are administered to the patient within the first hour of incision.

For laparoscopic surgery, small incisions are made for both the camera and the surgical instruments. The abdomen is then inflated with the gas, the splenic artery and vein are sealed and divided, along with other ligaments that hold the spleen in position.

For open surgery, which is carried out in more complex cases, namely massive splenomegaly or trauma, larger incisions are made to remove the spleen.

Complications like bleeding are controlled by carefully tying blood vessels, and surgeons then conduct the procedure very carefully to avoid causing any harm to surrounding organs like the pancreas. The surgeon also searches for and removes any accessory spleen content to avoid recurrence of underlying conditions.

After the Splenectomy Procedure

Post-operative care focuses on monitoring the patient for any immediate complications, and discussion between the doctor and patient on how to live normally post-splenectomy.

In-hospital recovery involves monitoring the patient for any bleeding, infection, and other problems

Pain management treatment is done, with importance being placed on trying to bring the patient to oral medicines as soon as possible.

As soon as the patient is fit to walk, mobilization is encouraged to increase blood circulation and prevent problems like pneumonia and blood clots.

Post-surgery patients are encouraged to take a liquid diet and then switch to small but frequent meals.
Lifelong infection prevention post-splenectomy involves revaccination, because severe infection can occur anytime, so booster doses are recommended by the doctor periodically.

A medical alert bracelet should be worn by a patient to indicate they are asplenic.

Patients are always advised to have an emergency supply of antibiotics and know when to use them, especially in cases of fever where the temperature rises above 38°C or higher.

Wound care involves keeping the incision area clean and dry and following specific instructions for bathing. Also, the patient is advised not to lift any heavy weights.

Splenectomy patients are usually monitored for two conditions, namely portal vein thrombosis (PVT), where blood clotting is monitored, and anticoagulant medications are prescribed. The second condition is overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI), where the doctor makes the patient and family aware of the symptoms of this very rare but fatal complication.

Benefits of Spleen Operation at Yashoda Hospitals

• Treatment of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ICT)
• Treatment of Hemolytic Anemia
• Treat Cancer
• Spleen ruptured due to injury
• Treatment of Hypersplenism
• Symptom relief for splenomegaly
• Less post-operative pain in laparoscopic splenectomy
• Shorter hospital stay in laparoscopic splenectomy