South African Medical Journal
Journal / South African Medical Journal / Vol. 47 No. 6 (1973) / Articles

download PDF

Published:

Mar 17, 2018

Issue

Vol. 47 No. 6 (1973)

Section

Articles

Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].

Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.

Previously published images

If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.

Author Biographies

D Gale

Haematology Clinic, Johannesburg Geueral Hospital, and Departmeut of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

P Sacks

Haematology Clinic, Johannesburg Geueral Hospital, and Departmeut of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

S Lynch

Haematology Clinic, Johannesburg Geueral Hospital, and Departmeut of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

TH Bothwell

Haematology Clinic, Johannesburg Geueral Hospital, and Departmeut of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

W Bezwoda

Haematology Clinic, Johannesburg Geueral Hospital, and Departmeut of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

K Stevens

Department of Haematology, School of Pathology, South African Institute for Medical Research and University of tbe Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

D Gale

P Sacks

S Lynch

TH Bothwell

W Bezwoda

K Stevens

Abstract

The results of 67 consecutive splenectomies carried out in patients attending the Haematology Clinic at the Johannesburg Hospital between 1965 and 1972 are reported. Forty patients underwent splenectomy because of the presence of cytopenia due in part at least to hypersplenism. The best results were achieved in 21 patients who were considered to have cytopenia due to a disordered immune mechanism and in whom the spleen was usually normal in size or only minimally enlarged. In addition, satisfactory results were obtained in 17 patients with a large spleen and pancytopenia. In this group the least satisfactory results were recorded in patients with advanced myelofibrosis. The results of splenectomy were also disappointing in 9 patients with lymphoma and other haematological malignancies. Sixteen diagnostic splenectomies were performed: 11 were done as part of a 'staging' laparotomy, for lymphoma. Although there was no operative mortality in this study, half the patients suffered complications, and in 16% of them they were severe, being usually the result of haemorrhage and/or infection.

S. Air. Med. J., 48, 1240 (1974).

Journal Identifiers

eISSN: 2078-5135
print ISSN: 0256-9574