Spleen removal

[Vince R]

Has anyone heard that removing the spline could helb MDS Patients.
The Spline kills abnormal Red Blood cell ????????
was there any Clinical trails Studies on spline removal???

God Bless

Vince

[Chirley]

Hi,

My doc says the other way around. That the reason my spleen is enlarged is that it's trying to make red cells to make up for the bone marrow.

OTOH, my brother has Lupus and his spleen destroys his platelets and his doc has mentioned removing his spleen..

Chirley

[Marlene]

The spleen also stores blood in for use in an emergency. If you have an accident or injury, then you have a reserve to call upon to make up the loss and seal off the injury. Some feel that if you remove the spleen, then the platelets held in the spleen will be more available all the time. It's usually a short-ived solution though so I would press you doc to find out his reasons for removing your spleen. What's he trying to accomplish by doing this procedure?

[gipper]

Hi Vince,

Removal of the spleen (splenectomy) is uncommon in MDS, but for some it may be advantageous. Here is a link that you can review:

http://www.aamds.org/aplastic/diseas...is__disease_e/

You can find many other links by googling "splenectomy + MDS". I am going to have a splenectomy next month as my spleen is greatly enlarged and quite uncomfortable and sometimes painful. The procedure is not without risks, but usually benefits those with low platelet counts. In my case, I do have a low platelet count, but in addition I have been diagnosed with ITP (immune thrombocytic purpura) and myelofibrosis. The removal of the spleen is more common for the latter two conditions than MDS. You'll need to talk with your doctor to find out just why he/she thinks removal would be beneficial.

The spleen is part of the immune system and besides taking out non-functioning cells it also holds a type of white blood cell that fights infections. And here is where a distinct risk is encountered - without a spleen you're less able to fight infections. In preparation you'll be required to get additional vaccines to reduce your chances of getting certain infections.

You can learn much more about the removal of the spleen by googling "splenectomy".

Wishing you the best,

Gipper

[g2_mace]

Hi Vince,

I am new to the forum. My father has been diagnosed with MDS back in 2008and has been on Dacogen. It has recently stopped working and he is looking for other treatments. His spleen ruptured back in 1983 and was removed due to a medication overload (he was in another country).

A specialist in Oncology and Hematology at Northwestern Hospital here in Chicago mentioned that the spleen produces new blood cells when you are a baby and as you grow to adulthood the bone marrow takes that job over. In patients with MDS where the bone marrow has a hard time reproducing new blood cells, in few cases the body is tricked or shifts to the spleen again, which begins to recreate the blood cells as if you were back in your infant years. These are just a few cases though. I just wanted to share the information with everyone.

-g2 mace