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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment of an enlarged spleen is usually aimed at the underlying problem. Antibiotics may be used to treat infections, for instance, and chemotherapy or radiation may help bring Hodgkin's disease into remission.
If an enlarged spleen causes serious complications or the underlying problem can't be identified or treated, surgical removal of your spleen (splenectomy) may be an option. In fact, in chronic or critical cases, surgery may offer the best hope for recovery.
But elective spleen removal requires careful consideration. You can live an active life without a spleen, but you're more likely to contract serious or even life-threatening infections, including overwhelming post-splenectomy infection, which can occur soon after the operation. Sometimes, radiation can shrink your spleen so that you can avoid surgery.
Reducing infection risk after surgery
If you do have your spleen removed, certain steps can help reduce your risk of infection, including:
- A series of vaccinations both before and after the splenectomy. These include the pneumococcal (Pneumovax), haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and meningococcal vaccines, which protect against pneumonia, meningitis, and infections of the blood, bones and joints.
- Taking penicillin or other antibiotics after your operation — sometimes for life.
- Avoiding travel to parts of the world where diseases such as malaria are endemic.
- Johnson HA, et al. Massive Splenomegaly. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1989 Feb;168(2):131-7, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2911790. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- Splenomegaly. Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. November 2005, http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec14/ch179/ch179b.html. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- Patient Information for Spleen Removal (Splenectomy) from SAGES. The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Laparoscopic Surgeons, http://www.sages.org/sagespublication.php?doc=PI12.
- Chronic Myloproliferative Disorders. National Cancer Institute, http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/templates/doc.aspx?viewid=0edcce21-e137-437f-82d6-7f81a60337e0&version=1&allpages=1. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- The Spleen. Journal of the American Medical Association. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/294/20/2660.pdf. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- Martin MB, et al. Thalassemia and the Spleen. The Cooley's Anemia Foundation. http://www.cooleysanemia.org/updates/Spleen1.pdf. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- Splenomegaly. Merck Manuals Online Medical Library, http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec11/ch138/ch138b.html. Accessed July 15, 2008.
