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Last updated: 23-Oct-2026
Spleen problems and splenectomy · Dr. Jivraj Mehta Hospital, Vasna, Ahmedabad
The spleen is a soft organ under the left ribs. It filters the blood and helps the body fight some serious infections. Spleen problems include low platelets, some anaemias, an injury, a cyst, an abscess and a swollen artery.
The spleen is worth keeping. Many spleen problems are treated with medicines, with a small procedure through a blood vessel, or by watching closely. Removing the spleen, called splenectomy, is kept for when these do not work.
When the spleen must come out, the vaccines, the antibiotics and the fever rule are part of the operation. They protect you for the rest of your life.
The spleen removes old blood cells and filters germs from the blood. It is especially good at clearing a group of germs with a thick coat, such as pneumococcus. Without a spleen, these germs can cause a sudden, severe infection.
Dr. Jivraj Mehta Hospital. Trained in super-specialty surgical gastroenterology programmes, qualified twice over in the specialty, with 18 years of experience in gastro and abdominal surgery. Every splenectomy for a blood disease is planned jointly with the haematologist, never by the surgeon alone.
Dr Harsh Shah
MS, MCh (Surgical Gastroenterology), DrNB (Surgical Gastroenterology)
Registered with Gujarat Medical Council, Reg. No. G-38738
Gastro, Cancer & Laparoscopic Surgeon · Dr. Jivraj Mehta Hospital, Vasna, Ahmedabad
Google rating at Dr. Jivraj Mehta Hospital, Vasna: 4.89 from 216 reviews. At Dr. Jivraj Mehta Hospital, Vasna, Ahmedabad: 4.94 from 18 reviews.
Most people reach a spleen surgeon through a haematologist, after an injury, or because a scan showed something in the spleen.
| Condition | What it means |
|---|---|
| Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). | The body destroys its own platelets, and the spleen is where much of this happens. Bleeding and bruising follow. |
| Hereditary spherocytosis. | Red cells are the wrong shape from birth. The spleen breaks them down, causing anaemia, jaundice and gallstones. |
| Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia. | The body attacks its own red cells. |
| Thalassaemia with a large spleen. | A big spleen that uses up blood, so more transfusions are needed. |
| A spleen injured in an accident. | Bleeding inside the belly after a fall, a road accident or a blow to the left side. |
| A cyst, an abscess or an artery aneurysm. | A fluid sac, a pocket of pus, or a ballooned artery next to the spleen. |
A large spleen from liver disease and high pressure in the portal vein is a different problem. It is covered on the portal hypertension page linked below.
The tests answer three questions. What is wrong with the spleen? Is removal truly needed? And is the body ready for an operation?
A large spleen or a spot on the spleen has many causes. Most are not cancer. The cause decides the treatment, so it is found first.
| Finding | How it is told apart |
|---|---|
| A large spleen from a blood disease. | Blood counts, film and the haematologist’s tests. |
| A large spleen from liver disease. | Liver tests, a liver scan, and swollen veins on endoscopy. |
| A simple cyst. | Thin wall and clear fluid on CT. A hydatid cyst is ruled out before any needle goes in. |
| An abscess. | Fever, pain under the left ribs, and a pus pocket on CT. |
| A growth, such as a lymphoma. | Glands elsewhere, blood tests and sometimes a biopsy. A growth is then treated by the cancer team, with a different plan. |
Many people with a spleen problem keep their spleen. The aim is to remove it only when that is the right step for that person.
Treatment moves step by step, from medicines and watching to a procedure and, last, an operation.
| Step | What is done |
|---|---|
| Medicines. | Steroids and other drugs for ITP and red cell diseases, with the haematologist. |
| Watching closely. | For a steady injury, a small cyst or a small aneurysm, with repeat scans. |
| A procedure through a blood vessel. | Embolisation: a tube passed from the groin blocks a bleeding or ballooned artery. |
| A drain through the skin. | For an abscess, placed under ultrasound or CT. |
| Partial splenectomy. | Part of the spleen is kept, in chosen cases such as spherocytosis in a young person. |
| Full splenectomy. | Removal of the whole spleen, usually by keyhole surgery, with the lifelong plan. |
For ITP, newer medicines now come before surgery. Splenectomy is usually kept for people in whom these medicines have not worked.
If the patient is stable, an injured spleen is usually watched in hospital rather than removed. Many heal without an operation.
These are less common, and each has its own rule.
Most spleens are removed by keyhole surgery under general anaesthesia. It means less pain, smaller wounds and a quicker return home than open surgery.
Some people have one or more tiny extra spleens near the main one. In ITP, a missed extra spleen is a well-known reason for platelets to fall again after surgery.
Vaccines protect against the germs a spleen normally clears. They are given at least two weeks before a planned operation, and they are not optional.
Every operation carries some risk, and splenectomy has a few of its own. Your own risks are discussed in person before you agree.
After keyhole splenectomy, most people go home within a few days. They go home with the full infection plan in hand.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Day of surgery. | Sitting out of bed, sips of water, and pain relief that limits strong painkillers. |
| Day 1. | Normal food as you can, walking four times, catheter out, and a platelet count. |
| Days 2 to 3. | Full diet, walking, and a watch on the rising platelet count. Vaccines are given now if they were not given before. |
| Days 3 to 5. | Home, with antibiotics, an alert card and the dates of every vaccine. |
You go home only when you are eating, walking, without fever, and able to say what you will do if a fever starts.
Any fever is an emergency, for life. Start the standby antibiotic at once and see a doctor the same day. Do not wait until morning.
A severe infection without a spleen can become dangerous within hours. Starting the antibiotic early is what makes the difference.
Follow-up after splenectomy is not only about the wound. It makes sure the infection plan has an owner for the rest of your life.
| When | What is checked |
|---|---|
| Two weeks. | Wound, platelet count, vaccines given, antibiotics and alert card in place. |
| Six weeks. | Response of the blood disease, with the haematologist. |
| Every year. | Flu vaccine, booster dates, standby antibiotic still at home, and the fever rule repeated. |
| Before any travel. | Malaria prevention and travel vaccines. |
| After an injury treated without surgery. | Repeat scans as needed, and advice on when sport and lifting can restart. |
★★★★★
“Fast recovery after a laparoscopic operation by Dr Harsh Shah. Minimum pain & stayed in hospital for 2 days. I will highly recommend the doctor for any Laparoscopic surgery in Ahmedabad.”
Ila Rambhia · Google review
★★★★★
“Precise and excellent surgical operation done by Dr.Harsh Shah, I really appreciate their consultation and guidance.”
bikash tarafdar · Google review
★★★★★
“Doctor harsh shah is very polite and to the point, no unnecessary treatment suggestion by them, staff is also good, clean hoapital nice maintain by their team”
vimal vaghela · Google review
Quoted exactly as written on Google. These patients describe keyhole and gastro surgery with Dr Harsh Shah. No review yet names the spleen.
The cost depends on the path you need. Watching or a procedure costs less than an operation, so a written estimate is given first.
What moves the estimate is the size of the spleen, keyhole or open surgery, the need for blood, embolisation, the number of days in hospital and any intensive care stay. Dr. Jivraj Mehta Hospital, Vasna, Ahmedabad works with the main insurers and cashless schemes, and its desk handles pre-authorisation for any admission. Please bring every scan and report, your medicine list, your insurance card and an ID. For questions before booking, call +91-63555-64601.
Yes. People live normal lives without a spleen. The one change is lifelong care against some serious infections: vaccines, antibiotics, an alert card and the fever rule.
No. Most people with ITP are treated with medicines. Splenectomy is usually kept for those in whom the newer medicines have not worked, often after waiting at least a year.
Not if you are stable. Most injured spleens are watched in hospital, and a bleeding artery can be blocked through a blood vessel. Removal is for a patient who is unstable or keeps bleeding.
The spleen clears some germs with a thick coat. Vaccines given at least two weeks before the operation teach the body to fight them without a spleen.
Treat any fever as an emergency. Start the standby antibiotic at once and see a doctor the same day, even at night.
Usually, yes. Open or hand-assisted surgery is kept for a very large spleen, liver disease with high portal pressure, or an unstable injured patient.
Sometimes a tiny extra spleen was left behind, or the disease did not respond. Extra spleens are searched for before and during surgery, and a special scan can find one later.
Dr. Jivraj Mehta Hospital, Vasna, Ahmedabad
Dr. Jivraj Mehta Hospital, Dr Jivraj Mehta Marg, Vasna, Ahmedabad 380007.
CT and artery studies, embolisation, keyhole and open spleen surgery, blood bank, intensive care and inpatient care.
Google: Dr Harsh Shah · 4.94 · 18 reviews
Directions to Dr. Jivraj Mehta Hospital, Vasna · WhatsApp +91-63555-64601
Patients come to Ahmedabad from across Gujarat, southern Rajasthan and western Madhya Pradesh.
Told your spleen may need to come out, or found to have a large or injured spleen? Your CT, blood reports and the haematologist's notes can be sent ahead, so the consultation starts with them already read. The plan is made at the consultation, together with the haematologist when the cause is a blood disease. Call +91-63555-64601 · Bring the reports to the visit
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