Enlarged spleen. Causes

The spleen is the peripheral organ of the hematopoiesis where cell proliferation and differentiation occurs. Its main functions include:

• Hemopoiesis;
• Immunogenesis;
• Immune surveillance of cells and tissues of their own organism.

In addition, the spleen as a peripheral organ of hematopoiesis and immunogenesis performs the following functions:

• Lymphocytopoiesis;
• Disposal of antibodies of erythrocytes and damaged leukocytes.

In addition, the body is a kind of blood depot, involved in its filtration. Based on the functional features, we can assume why the spleen is enlarged. In newborns, its size becomes larger on the second-third day after birth, which is the norm. This is completely physiological, in the future the growth of the organ will decrease.

Operative treatment

The enlarged spleen can be detected by palpation, but the most reliable information will be obtained as a result of ultrasound examination of the organ. Often the size of the organ is increased due to the formation of a cyst. In this case, further actions will depend on its size. If the size of the cyst is less than 3 cm, the child is registered and observed by a doctor. In another case, it must be deleted immediately. At the same time, splenectomy can also be performed - removal of the spleen. If before the indications for the operation had extended boundaries, and the body was cut out often enough, now the number of such cases has decreased. This is primarily due to the accumulation of information about the functions of the body, its importance in the work of the immune system, proper treatment, when the spleen in a child is enlarged.

Causes

The reasons can be different, but the main thing is infectious diseases. Often, the enlarged spleen is after such diseases as tuberculosis, syphilis, mononucleosis, typhoid fever. The organ can change due to pathologies on the part of the hematopoiesis system, the organs of the cardiovascular system, with liver diseases and circulatory disorders. Quite often, the enlarged spleen is one of the signs of hemolytic anemia. As already mentioned at the beginning of the article, one of the functions of the body is its involvement in the disposal of old and damaged blood cells.
Accordingly, with hemolytic anemia, when the hemolysis process is activated, the number of dead cells increases, and the tissue itself changes, where their partial destruction occurs. Therefore, if the child has an enlarged spleen at the same time, and there are such objective signs as a decrease in the number of red blood cells, a decreased hemoglobin, hyperbilirubinemia, then this all speaks of the possible development of hemolytic anemia. In this case, removing the organ is simply necessary to preserve the child's life. It should be remembered that after splenectomy the body is extremely susceptible to the action of infectious agents, in particular to the penetration of pneumococcal bacteria. Therefore, within 3-5 years, it is necessary to closely monitor the health of the child, carry out timely immunization and other measures to prevent the development of infectious processes.