[Splenectomy for chronic myeloid leukaemia in the early and late phases (author's transl)]

Splenectomy was perfomed in three patients with typical chronic myeloid leukaemia after a compensated stage had been reached with busulphan. Marked pancytopenia as a result of hypersplenism occurred in one patient 14 months after the end of the primary induction, and was successfully treated by splenectomy after radiotherapy of the spleen had failed. Splenectomy was performed without complication, and the histological appearance of the spleen showed myeloid infiltrates while there was none in the liver biopsy. After another 18 months the patient remained compensated, without busulphan administration. In the two other patients splenectomy was performed in the recompensated stage, one month and five years, respectively, after the primary induction had been concluded. In these two patients, too, there was myeloid infiltration of the spleen. In both, mild leucocytosis with shift to the left as far as promyelocytes occurred six and two weeks, respectively, after splenectomy and busulphan was started again. Twelve and ten months, respectively, after splenectomy they are both in the compensated stage. The importance of splenectomy in the early phase lies in the possibility of delaying blast crisis and avoiding myelofibrosis, as well as in the prevention of complications in the later stages.