A splenectomy is a surgical procedure that partially or completely removes the spleen, an organ important to immune function because of its role in destroying certain encapsulated bacteria. Common indications for the procedure include trauma to the spleen, tumors, an enlarged spleen and hematological diseases such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia. Because the spleen plays a significant immunological role, its removal carries the risk of overwhelming post-splenectomy infection, a rapidly fatal medical emergency that can follow when the body's immune system can no longer properly fight infection after splenectomy or in the congenital absence of a spleen.
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1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splenectomy, lead sectionQuote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splenectomy, lead section
A splenectomy is the surgical procedure that partially or completely removes the spleen.
2. Splenectomy (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory sectionQuote, History section
The first successful splenectomy was performed in 1893 by Oskar Riegner of Breslau.
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