Partial splenectomy for hereditary spherocytosis: a multi-institutional review.
OBJECTIVE
Partial splenectomy has emerged as a surgical option for selected children with hereditary spherocytosis, with the goal of reducing anemia while preserving splenic function. This multi-institutional study is the largest series to date examining outcomes data for partial splenectomy in patients with hereditary spherocytosis.


METHODS
Data were collected retrospectively from 5 North American pediatric hospitals. Sixty-two children underwent partial splenectomy for hereditary spherocytosis between 1990 and 2008.


RESULTS
At 1 year following partial splenectomy, mean hemoglobin significantly increased by 3.0 ± 1.4 g/dL (n = 52), reticulocyte count decreased by 6.6% ± 6.6% (n = 41), and bilirubin level decreased by 1.3 ± 0.9 mg/dL (n = 25). Patients with poor or transient hematologic response were found to have significantly more splenic regeneration postoperatively compared with patients with a durable clinical response (maximal spleen dimension, 9.0 ± 3.4 vs 6.3 ± 2.2 cm). Clinically significant recurrence of anemia or abdominal pain led to completion splenectomy in 4.84% of patients. No patients developed postsplenectomy sepsis.


CONCLUSIONS
Our multi-institutional review indicates that partial splenectomy for hereditary spherocytosis leads to sustained and clinically significant improvement in hematologic profiles and clinical symptoms in most patients. Our data support partial splenectomy as an alternative for selected children with hereditary spherocytosis.
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin/Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
Keely L
KL
Buesing
Elisabeth T
ET
Tracy
Colleen
C
Kiernan
Aimee C
AC
Pastor
Laura D
LD
Cassidy
J Paul
JP
Scott
Russell E
RE
Ware
Andrew M
AM
Davidoff
Frederick J
FJ
Rescorla
Jacob C
JC
Langer
Henry E
HE
Rice
Keith T
KT
Oldham
D000293:Adolescent; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D017701:Reticulocyte Count / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013103:Spherocytosis, Hereditary / Q000097:blood / Q000601:surgery*; D013154:Spleen / Q000502:physiology; D013156:Splenectomy / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D001663:Bilirubin