Factors affecting mortality and morbidity after splenectomy in hematologic diseases

Aim: The aim of the present study was to examine the factors associated with mortality in patients who underwent splenectomy for treatment of hematological diseases. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study consisted of a retrospective evaluation of the hospital records of 48 patients who underwent splenectomy for treatment of hematological disease between January 2005 - November 2008 in the General Surgery Department of Dicle University, Faculty of Medicine. Results: Of the 48 patients included in the study, 56.2% (27 patients) were female and the mean age was 36.65 ± 15.58 years. 60.4% of the patients (N=29) had Chronic ITP and the mean hospitalization time was 7.31 ± 3.45 days. There was a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-operative leukocyte and thrombocyte counts (p<0.001). 22.9% (N=11) of the patients had been given blood transfusions before the operation and 29.1% of the patients (N=14) had been given blood transfu-sions after the operation. Complications arose in 62.5% of the patients and mortality was not observed in any of the patients during hospitalization. Conclusion: Similar to other reports in the literature, splenectomy was determined to be safe in terms of mortality.