[The spleen in experimental surgery]

The injured but functionally intact spleen can be saved with various surgical techniques. Two of these techniques were developed in our department: partial spleen resection by embracing suture line, and spleen autotransplantation by implantation of spleen chips between the sheets of the greater omentum, the so called "spleen-apron" technique. Functional and structural postsurgical follow-up investigations were developed in the last three decades, including comprehensive laboratory tests (hematological, hemostaseological, hemorheological, enzymological, routine chemical, immunological), imaging procedures (abdominal US, scintigraphic methods, SPECT, as well as NanoSPECT/CT in the last years) with morphological analysis (conventional histological, immunohistochemical, electonmicroscopical), as well as the investigation of the role of hemopoetic stem cells. These investigations confirm the viability of spleen autotransplantation. The implanted spleen chips are able to restore the splenic functions partially following remodellation and recolonisation after neovascularisation. It is a critically important process in the prevention of overwhelming post-splenectomy infection and DIC. This paper summarizes the most important principles and the main conclusions of different experimental animal models.