Thrombotic risks of staging laparotomy with splenectomy in Hodgkin's disease

No significant excess of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) as measured by the 125I-labelled fibrinogen method was observed in patients having staging laparotomy and splenectomy for Hodgkin's disease (HD) compared with patients having elective cholecystectomy under highly standardized surgical conditions. Patients who did have DVT all had splenic involvement with HD. There was no correlation between the post-splenectomy thrombocytosis and the occurrence of DVT. Patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and splenomegaly had a high incidence of DVT after splenectomy.