Can a person survive with a ruptured spleen?

Without emergency treatment, the internal bleeding caused by a ruptured spleen can be life-threatening.

Can you live with a ruptured spleen?

Deaths caused by splenic rupture are possible and do still occur, even at the top trauma centers. You can live without a spleen. However, since the spleen plays a crucial role in the body's ability to fight certain bacteria, living without the organ puts you at higher risk for life-threatening infections.

Can a ruptured spleen heal itself?

Some people require immediate surgery. Others heal with rest and time. Many small or moderate-sized injuries to the spleen can heal without surgery. You're likely to stay in the hospital while doctors observe your condition and provide nonsurgical care, such as blood transfusions, if necessary.

Is a ruptured spleen very painful?

An injured or ruptured spleen can make the abdomen painful and tender. Blood in the abdomen acts as an irritant and causes pain. The pain is in the left side of the abdomen just below the rib cage. Sometimes the pain is felt in the left shoulder.

What causes a spleen to rupture?

Traumatic injuries are the most common causes of splenic rupture, especially car accidents, which cause 50% to 75%. Sports injuries, especially in contact sports such as American football and hockey, are also common. Violent causes can include fist blows, stabbing and gunshot wounds.

Understanding Trauma - Splenic Lacerations

How do you tell if my spleen is ruptured?

Symptoms of a ruptured spleen can include left-side abdominal pain, referred left shoulder pain, lightheadedness, confusion, dizziness, and blurred vision. Some individuals may also experience hemorrhagic shock as a result of massive blood loss. A ruptured spleen can be life-threatening if not treated promptly.

What does spleen damage feel like?

Spleen pain is usually felt as a pain behind your left ribs. It may be tender when you touch the area. This can be a sign of a damaged, ruptured or enlarged spleen.

What are 3 diseases that affect the spleen?

The spleen can become swollen after an infection or injury. It can also become enlarged as a result of a disease such as cirrhosis, leukaemia or rheumatoid arthritis.

What are the first signs of internal bleeding?

How common is spleen rupture?

Splenic rupture is a potentially life-threatening condition, often associated with chest or abdominal trauma. Spontaneous rupture is very rare and is usually reported as being secondary to underlying pathological conditions.

Can you live a long life without a spleen?

Life without a spleen

You can be active without a spleen, but you're at increased risk of becoming sick or getting serious infections. This risk is highest shortly after surgery. People without a spleen may also have a harder time recovering from an illness or injury.

How likely is it for your spleen to rupture?

Splenic rupture is a rare but serious complication affecting 0.1% to 0.5% of patients with mononucleosis. Current guidelines (based on published case reports) recommend complete activity restriction for 3 weeks after onset of mononucleosis symptoms to reduce rupture risk.

What would cause a spleen to rupture without trauma?

Common causes of non traumatic splenic rupture include myeloproliferative diseases, vasculitis and infections (such as malaria or infectious mononucleosis). However, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains an obscure cause of splenic rupture that requires unique attention [4, 5].

What attacks the spleen?

Infections. Viral infections such as mononucleosis and HIV, bacterial infections such as tuberculosis and endocarditis and parasite infections such as malaria and toxoplasmosis stress the immune function of the spleen. They can cause it to overproduce antibodies and immune cells (hyperplasia).

How long is recovery from spleen surgery?

You or your child will spend less than a week in the hospital. The hospital stay may be only 1 or 2 days after a laparoscopic splenectomy. Healing will likely take 4 to 6 weeks.

What is the most common cause of splenic rupture?

The spleen is the visceral organ most frequently injured in blunt abdominal trauma. Trauma is also the most common cause of a ruptured spleen.

What organ takes over after spleen removal?

After splenectomy, the functions of the spleen are usually taken up by other organs, such as the liver, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. Up to 30% of people have a second spleen (called as accessory spleen), these are usually very small but may grow and function when the main spleen is removed.

What are signs of spleen problems?

Can spleen grow back?

Unlike some other organs, like the liver, the spleen does not grow back (regenerate) after it is removed. Up to 30% of people have a second spleen (called an accessory spleen). These are usually very small, but may grow and function when the main spleen is removed.

Would you feel if you were bleeding internally?

The signs of internal bleeding are usually pretty obvious. Most types of internal bleeding cause severe pain. Intestinal bleeding is an exception, but it causes noticeably bloody or black stools.

What are 2 ways to tell if bleeding is life threatening?

Look for Life-Threatening Bleeding

Examples include: Blood that is spurting out of the wound. Blood that won't stop coming out of the wound. Blood that is pooling on the ground.

What type of bleeding is the most serious and can be fatal?

Arterial bleeding is the most severe and urgent type of bleeding. It can result from a penetrating injury, blunt trauma, or damage to organs or blood vessels.