As I said, this article will add to the debate about splenectomy. Many people swear by it and others question if it was indeed a help. In Lisa's case it meant every cold and infection had to be carefully watched, as they often became serious life-threatening infections. A simple cold often landed her in the emergency room with raging fevers. The spleen is a huge part of the body's immune system and without it, much care needs to be taken.
Whether it provides some relief from transfusion dependency seems to vary from case to case. Some seem to not even get any temporary relief as far as frequency of transfusion and others find substantial relief. I would not just write off this article because these findings haven't been observed before. If these findings are further corroborated, it will make a serious argument against splenectomy, just as the arguments in favor of instant tonsillectomies vanished over the years (much too late to save my tonsils).
As I said, surgery should always be a last resort. You can't go back once you do it. As was Sajid's experience, the problem was corrected over time, without splenectomy. In some cases there may be no choice as a ruptured spleen can create all sorts of new problems, including death.
As I requested long ago in our MSN group, I would like to have everyone share their spleen stories with us. It is a very difficult decision to make to have a splenectomy and those considering it can greatly benefit from your experience. We can look at study after study, but personal experience often can outweigh those when one has to make that decision. So, everyone, please share your experiences.
Thank you.