Splenectomy versus splenic salvage for spleens ruptured by blunt trauma

Of 339 patients treated in three Charlotte hospitals from January 1960 through March 1983 for splenic rupture caused by blunt trauma, 317 (93.5%) underwent splenectomy, and 22 (6.5%) underwent splenic salvage operations. Perioperative mortality for splenectomized patients was 7.9 per cent, and that for those who received splenic salvage operations was 22.7 per cent. Perioperative sepsis occurred in 4.4 per cent of the splenectomized patients and in 9 per cent of those whose spleens were salvaged. Perioperative deaths and sepsis in both groups were related to associated injuries, not to splenic injuries. Follow-ups from 5 months to 22.4 years (mean, 9.5 years) of the 292 splenectomized patients who survived their injuries show that 252 (86.3%) are living, 22 (7.5%) have died of causes unrelated to splenic injuries, 18 (6.1%) could not be found, and none of the patients traced has died of sepsis. One patient (0.34%) experienced an episode of sepsis i.e., a nonfatal septicemia 7 years postsplenectomy, that may be related to splenectomy. These data suggest that the importance of splenic salvage for prevention of postsplenectomy sepsis has been overemphasized and that expeditious splenectomy remains the procedure of choice for patients with ruptured spleens, especially for those with hypovolemic hypotension, anemia from hemorrhage, or multiple injuries. Data to substantiate these views will be presented.