Pattern of Splenectomy Indications in Kashan Shahid-Beheshti Hospital: A 5-Year Study

BACKGROUND: The spleen is amongst the most vulnerable organs which are easily injured in abdominal trauma. Nowadays, blunt trauma is the most prevalent indication of splenectomy. OBJECTIVES: We conducted this study to determine the pattern of indications for open splenectomies carried out during the past five years in Shahid-Beheshti hospital, a central hospital in Kashan, Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Demographic data of all patients who had undergone an open splenectomy in Kashan Shahid-Beheshti hospital during the past five years (2007-2012), indications for this type of surgery and outcome of patients were collected and entered into the study. RESULTS: During the study period, the data from a total of 99 open splenectomies were entered in our study. Sixty-eight (68.7%) patients were male and 31 (31.1%) female. The mean age was 31.64 years, 75.8% of the cases had indications of trauma and 24.2% were elective. The most prevalent indication for trauma was motor-bike rider accidents and for elective ones portal hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Most cases of splenectomy in our center caused by trauma, and among the different types of trauma, blunt trauma is the dominant cause. Road traffic accidents, in particular motor vehicle accidents, especially motorbike injures, are the most frequent cause of splenectomy. Due to the instability of trauma patients, a mortality rate of 8% seems to be reasonable for splenectomy. We recommend that more research be conducted in this area and more cases enrolled with a reasonable follow-up period for splenectomy complications in this study.