The spleen is a peripheral hematopoietic organ where cells proliferate and differentiate. Its main functions include:
- hematopoiesis;
- immunogenesis;
- immune surveillance of the cells and tissues of your own body.
Additionally, the spleen, as a peripheral organ of hematopoiesis and immunogenesis, performs the following functions:
- lymphocytopoiesis;
- utilization of antibodies of erythrocytes and damaged leukocytes.
In addition, the body is a kind of blood depot, involved in its filtration. Based on the functional features, it can be assumed why the spleen is enlarged. In newborns, its size becomes larger on the second or third day after birth, which is the norm. This is quite physiological, in the future the growth of the organ will decrease.
Surgical treatment
An enlarged spleen can be detected whenpalpation, however, the most reliable information will be obtained as a result of an ultrasound examination of the organ. Often, the size of the organ is increased due to the formation of a cyst. In this case, further actions will depend on its size.
If the size of the cyst is less than 3 cm, then the child is registered and observed by a doctor. Otherwise, it needs to be removed immediately. At the same time, a splenectomy can be performed - the removal of the spleen. If earlier the indications for surgery had extended boundaries, and the organ was excised quite often, now the number of such cases has decreased. This is primarily due to the accumulation of information about the functions of the organ, its importance in the functioning of the immune system, proper treatment when the spleen is enlarged in a child.
Reasons
The reasons may be different, but the main one is infectious diseases. Often, an enlarged spleen occurs after diseases such as tuberculosis, syphilis, mononucleosis, typhoid fever.
An organ can change due to pathologies of the hematopoietic system, organs of the cardiovascular system, liver diseases and circulatory disorders. Quite often, an enlarged spleen is one of the signs of hemolytic anemia. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, one of the functions of the organ is its participation in the disposal of old and damaged blood cells. Accordingly, with hemolytic anemia, when the hemolysis process is activated,the number of dead cells increases, and the tissue itself changes, where their partial destruction occurs. Therefore, if a child has an enlarged spleen at the same time, and there are such objective signs as a decrease in the number of red blood cells, low hemoglobin, hyperbilirubinemia, then this all indicates the possible development of hemolytic anemia. In this case, removing the organ is simply necessary to save the life of the child. It should be remembered that after a splenectomy, the body is extremely susceptible to the action of infectious agents, in particular to the penetration of pneumococcal bacteria. Therefore, within 3-5 years, it is necessary to carefully monitor the he alth of the child, carry out timely immunization and other measures to prevent the development of infectious processes.
