How long can you live with a ruptured spleen

The spleen is located just under your rib cage on your left side. A ruptured spleen may release a large amount of blood into the stomach cavity. A ruptured spleen is a medical emergency that occurs as a result of a break in your spleen's surface. Your spleen, situated just under your rib cage on your left side, helps your body fight infection and filter old blood cells from your bloodstream.

Treatment for a ruptured spleen will depend on the seriousness of your condition. Severe injuries usually require immediate surgery. Many small or moderate-sized injuries to the spleen can heal without surgery. You're likely to stay in the hospital while your health care team observe your condition and provide nonsurgical care, such as blood transfusions, if necessary. You might have periodic follow-up CT scans to check whether your spleen has healed or to determine whether you need surgery. Spleen surgery is generally safe, but any surgery has risks, such as bleeding, blood clots, infection and pneumonia. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.

How long can you live with a ruptured spleen

Back to Health A to Z. Some people are born without a spleen or need to have it removed because of illness or injury. The spleen is a fist-sized organ in the upper left side of your abdomen, next to your stomach and behind your left ribs. It's an important part of your immune system, but you can survive without it. This is because the liver can take over many of the spleen's functions. If the spleen does not work properly, it may start to remove healthy blood cells. Spleen pain is usually felt as a pain behind your left ribs. It may be tender when you touch the area. The spleen can become damaged or may burst rupture after an injury, such as a blow to the abdomen, a car accident, a sporting accident or broken ribs. A ruptured spleen is a medical emergency, as it can cause life-threatening bleeding. The spleen can become swollen after an infection or injury. It can also become enlarged as a result of a health condition, such as cirrhosis , leukaemia or rheumatoid arthritis. Doctors can often tell if you have an enlarged spleen by feeling your abdomen. The spleen is not usually removed if it's just enlarged. Instead, you'll receive treatment for any underlying condition and your spleen will be monitored.

If the spleen is already enlarged due to infection or another cause, there is increased risk that the spleen might rupture. It is a highly vascular organ where blood cells accumulate.

A ruptured spleen is a life threatening medical emergency. It requires immediate medical attention. While surgery is not always necessary, timely treatment is critical. The spleen is a small organ in the upper left part of your abdomen. It plays an important role in fighting infection, supporting immunity, and cleaning the bloodstream of bacteria and old blood cells. Occasionally, the spleen can be injured.

The spleen is an organ located in the left-upper quarter of the abdomen, beneath the ribs. It is about the size of a clenched fist and plays a vital role in fighting infection and filtering blood. A spleen can split open, or rupture, during a traumatic injury. This important organ has a number of functions, including the production of immune cells and antibodies. It is also responsible for removing abnormal or old blood cells and foreign bodies, such as bacteria and viruses, from the blood. The spleen also recycles hemoglobin, the component in blood that carries oxygen, and stores platelets to help blood clot. A tough, elastic outer layer containing muscle fibers covers the spleen. Blunt injury to the spleen can cause this layer to rupture. The symptoms of a ruptured spleen are often accompanied by other signs of injury caused by blunt trauma to the abdomen. Examples of these other injuries include rib fractures , pelvic fracture, and spinal cord injury.

How long can you live with a ruptured spleen

Federal government websites often end in. The site is secure. Since the s, the management of blunt splenic trauma has evolved from almost exclusive surgical management to selective use of nonsurgical management in hemodynamically stable patients. Understanding of the spleen's immunologic importance in protection against overwhelming postsplenectomy infection led to development first of surgical techniques for splenic salvage and later to protocols for nonsurgical management of adults with blunt splenic injury. The evolution of nonsurgical management has resulted in new patterns of postsplenic trauma complications. This article describes a pancreatic pseudocyst, one of several described delayed complications of nonsurgical management of blunt splenic trauma.

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There are numerous causes of fingertip swelling, and a few are potentially serious or life-threatening. Open surgery Open surgery is where one large cut is made. This content does not have an English version. In: Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. Management of splenic injury in the adult trauma patient. An enlarged spleen can rupture even with less forceful blunt trauma. By Mayo Clinic Staff. Your GP can prescribe a course of antibiotics so you have them ready to use if you get an infection. In: Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. Liu J, et al. Spleen surgery is generally safe, but any surgery has risks, such as bleeding, blood clots, infection and pneumonia. Follow Mayo Clinic.

The spleen is an immune system organ in the upper left portion of your abdomen. Its location means it is prone to injury after blunt force trauma, such as after a car accident. A severe spleen injury can be life threatening because you may experience significant blood loss.

Treatment for a ruptured spleen typically falls into two camps: several days of intensive hospital care or surgery. About Mayo Clinic. International Business Collaborations. Doherty GM, ed. A ruptured spleen can be a life threatening condition and requires immediate attention. A ruptured spleen is a medical emergency. Laparoscopy Most operations to remove spleens are carried out using keyhole surgery laparoscopy. Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic Press. Gastroenterology Research and Practice. After a splenectomy, your doctor may recommend a series of vaccinations. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.