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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Child Had Spleen Removal. Now Have High Platelet Level. What Should Be Done?

Hi, My name is Kate and I wonder if you could answer the following: my son had to have his spleen completely removed as it was completely ruptured after a bad rugby tackle. Surgery took 4 hours and he required 3 units of blood . When the surgeon came to talk to us the first question he as was did our son ever have lymph problems to which we answered no and we thought no more about it. This was all in Novemeber 2012. In recent weeks his platelet count has started to slowly rise. Can you tell me why the surgeon would ask about his lymphs ? Thank you
Wed, 6 Mar 2013
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi and thanks for the query,
the spleen , the lymph nodes and the bone marrow constitute what we call the lymphopeoitic system. These structures are interelated. He was certainly trying to exclude the possibility of a tumour.
The pleen is very important in destroying worn out red blood cells and platelets. Its not surprising that the child s platelet count could be rising with time. However, patients without spleens fight encapsulated bacteria ineffectively. It shall thus be advisable to respect strict following up the hemophilus influenzae, pneumo 23 and typhim vi vaccines all the time against these three bacteria: Neisseria meningitidis, Meningococci and Salmonella.
Hope this helps and best regards,
Luchuo, MD.
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General & Family Physician,  Dr. Gustav Gous's  Response
Welcome to HCM.
The spleen is part of the lymphatic system which includes your lymph glands. When your lymph glands are enlarged your spleen might be enlarged as well. An enlarged spleen is more prone to rupture than one not enlarged. I suspect this might be the reason that the asked the question. I trust this helps you.
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Child Had Spleen Removal. Now Have High Platelet Level. What Should Be Done?

Hi and thanks for the query, the spleen , the lymph nodes and the bone marrow constitute what we call the lymphopeoitic system. These structures are interelated. He was certainly trying to exclude the possibility of a tumour. The pleen is very important in destroying worn out red blood cells and platelets. Its not surprising that the child s platelet count could be rising with time. However, patients without spleens fight encapsulated bacteria ineffectively. It shall thus be advisable to respect strict following up the hemophilus influenzae, pneumo 23 and typhim vi vaccines all the time against these three bacteria: Neisseria meningitidis, Meningococci and Salmonella. Hope this helps and best regards, Luchuo, MD.