Splenectomy--a surgical panorama

A five-year material of splenectomies (1970-74) is presented. The material was divided according to the indications for splenectomy as follows: radicality (Group I), iatrogenic hemorrhage Group II), traumatic ruptures (Group III), hematological cases (Group IV) and miscellaneous cases (Group V). There was a large increase in the hematological group over the period due to the addition of splenectomy in the staging procedure for Hodgkin's disease. The mortality was highest in group I and lowest in group IV, as also was the incidence of complications. No patient with Hodgkin's disease died of the operation and the staging laparotomy for this disease, which gives valuable information, thus seems sufficiently safe to warrant routine use.