Author(s)

Mamadou Sakoba Barry^1,2, Boubacar Barry¹, Sandaly Diakité^1,2, Aboubacar Touré^1,2, Aissatou Taran Diallo^1,2

¹General Surgery Department, Ignace Deen National Hospital at Conakry University Hospital, Conakry, Guinea.
²Faculty of Health Sciences and Technology, Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry, Conakry, Guinea.

Introduction: Splenectomy is the surgical removal of the spleen. It can be performed during various pathologies, ranging from abdominal trauma to hemoglobinopathies. The progress made in the knowledge of the immune functions of the spleen and the fear of post-splenectomy infectious complications have favored the development of surgical or non-surgical splenic preservation techniques calling into question the dogma of splenectomy. The aim of this study was to determine the indications for splenectomy. Methodology: This was a retrospective, descriptive study lasting 5 years in the general surgery department of the Ignace Deen National Hospital. All files of splenectomized patients were included, our variables were clinical, therapeutic and progressive. Results: We collected 42 cases of splenectomies out of the 2478 surgical procedures performed, representing 1.7% of the department’s surgical activities. The average age was 44 years. The age group of 41 to 50 years was the most represented, i.e. 26% (n = 11) of cases. Sex ratio = 1. Abdominal pain was the reason for consultation in patients, i.e. 100% (n = 42) of cases. The antecedents were dominated by recurrent malaria with 52.3% (n = 22) of cases, then recurrent anemia in 21% (n = 9), and 16.7% (n = 7) had sickle cell disease. Splenomegaly was found in 31 patients, or 73.6%. Ultrasound was performed in all patients. The indications for splenectomy were: isolated splenomegaly with risk of rupture (38%, n = 16), hypersplenism (26%, n = 11) and trauma to the spleen (19.04%, n = 8). Total splenectomy was performed in all cases. The surgical consequences were favorable in 85.7%, (n = 36) with morbidity of 14% (n = 6) and mortality of 9.52% (n = 4). The average length of hospitalization was 10.4 days with extremes of 1 and 22 days. Conclusion: Splenectomy constitutes a relatively common surgical procedure in our context. The indications for splenectomy were isolated splenomegaly with risk of rupture, hypersplenism and trauma to the spleen and total splenectomy was the rule.

Splenectomy, Indications, Ignace Deen

Barry, M.S., Barry, B., Diakité, S., Touré, A. and Diallo, A.T. (2024) Splenectomy: Indications in the General Surgery Department of Ignace Deen Hospital. Surgical Science, 15, 219-224. doi: 10.4236/ss.2024.154021.