Under the influence of various factors, the integrity of the spleen - an organ located in the left hypochondrium - can be broken. Its rupture requires immediate medical intervention, but delay in this case can result in irreparable consequences. How does the spleen hurt and how to provide first aid if it is damaged? Everyone should know about this.
Causes of damage
Anyone can experience a ruptured spleen, regardless of age or lifestyle. Such a pathology may well overtake an elderly person, a teenager, and even a very small child.
The first symptom of a ruptured spleen in adults is the occurrence of an extensive hematoma that is filled with blood clots. This condition is called subcapsular formation. Gradually, the capsule opens, provoking the development of bleeding. The most common cause of a ruptured spleen is serious abdominal trauma. In this case, all symptoms usually appear immediately. Statistically, a ruptured spleenfrom a blow occurs in about 70% of all cases of pathology.
Much less often the organ is damaged due to other conditions:
- clonal abnormalities in the hematopoietic system;
- the course of infectious processes in the body that increase the load on the spleen;
- too high physical activity against the background of pathologies in the spleen;
- abnormal changes in the organ, for example, its pathological increase;
- increased blood filling during the formation and development of the fetus in the last trimester of pregnancy;
- failures in metabolic processes;
- injury to the capsule at the time of contractions during rapid or complicated labor;
- malignant and benign neoplasms in the cells of the organ;
- transmissible diseases of an infectious nature, such as malaria;
- inflammation of nearby structures, such as cirrhosis of the liver, tuberculosis or hepatitis C.
Symptoms of ruptured spleen in adults
Sudden changes in he alth prevent damage to the capsule or tissues of the organ. Here are the main symptoms of a ruptured spleen in adults:
- acute, unbearable pain in the area of the left hypochondrium, may radiate to the area of the scapula;
- nausea accompanied by vomiting or the urge to vomit;
- severe pain when pressed;
- instant onset of weakness, apathy;
- bloating of the anterior abdominal cavity;
- sudden blanching;
- lossappetite and strength;
- palpitations;
- lowering blood pressure;
- pain, discomfort in the anus area;
- dizziness with blurred vision;
- disorientation, faintness.
At the moment of injury, the person feels an unusual internal push on the left side of the chest.
How does the spleen hurt? The pain that appears when an organ is ruptured is almost impossible to endure. Pain is acute, excruciating. It is this symptom that often serves as a reason for suspecting the diagnosis.
With a one-time injury, all the described symptoms of rupture of the spleen in adults appear simultaneously, within 5-10 minutes after the injury. A two-stage violation of the integrity is characterized by the development of signs only after a complete rupture of the tissues.
Diagnosis
Ignoring the signs of a ruptured spleen is probably simply impossible, because a person feels extremely strong, sharp pain. But it can be very difficult to correctly determine the diagnosis due to the symptoms that are characteristic of other pathologies of the internal organs. It is possible to finally confirm the presence of the alleged damage only during surgery. In all other cases, establishing a specific diagnosis is obtained with a probability of about 12-15%.
If you suspect a ruptured organ, you must definitely go to the doctor. In the clinic, you will be assigned a set of examinations that will identify the causeemerging pain:
Ultrasound. On the monitor, the gap does not reflect ultrasonic waves, that is, it is impossible to examine the edges and tissues of the organ. This is due to profuse bleeding. Indicators of rupture of the spleen on the ultrasound screen is the complete absence or decrease in the mobility of the diaphragm in the area of the left dome. In addition, in this condition, there is a pronounced displacement of the abdominal organs to the left side. Sometimes ultrasound becomes impossible due to severe pain when pressing on the damaged area
- Laparoscopy. This is a surgical examination that makes it possible to identify the presence of an injury, its size and location. Laparoscopy is a puncture of the abdominal cavity and the internal insertion of a special telescopic tube. If it is impossible to conduct such an examination due to certain contraindications, the doctor may prescribe an identical surgical diagnostic method to the patient - laparocentesis. During this procedure, soft tissues are gently pierced with a special device and the fluid accumulated inside is removed.
- X-ray of the chest and abdomen. Often, on a plain x-ray, it is not possible to examine the damage in detail, so doctors often recommend a contrast examination of the vascular network - an antiography. This procedure can detect vascular damage caused by damage and determine the extent of bleeding.
Types of injury
Doctors conditionally subdivideruptures of the spleen into multiple and single, and the first, according to statistics, occur much more often. In addition, there are several more types:
- Contusion - traumatic rupture of the spleen without damage to the membrane.
- Breach of the capsule leaving the parenchyma intact.
- Simultaneous rupture of the shell and capsule.
- Injury to the parenchyma, which entails damage to the membrane - a two-stage latent rupture.
- Complete damage to the entire spleen leading to late bleeding.
How to find the problem
Determining the exact diagnosis, the specialist takes into account the entire clinical picture: the victim's complaints, his appearance, pressure indicator, pulse rate, results of urine and blood tests.
Rupture of the spleen is eliminated exclusively by surgery. It is impossible to get by with the use of any medication and, even more so, the use of alternative means.
For pain in the spleen, you need to call a team of doctors, but before they arrive, you should not waste time in vain. Competently rendered first aid will make it possible to significantly alleviate the condition of the victim and can even shorten the duration of rehabilitation after the operation.
What to do with a ruptured spleen
In this case, you need to act according to a certain scenario:
- Lay the victim on a hard surface with their back, and place a pillow or a suitable cushion under their head.
- Fingers carefullypress down on the center of the chest to stop heavy bleeding.
- Repeat such pressure every half minute until the arrival of the medical team.
- Place a cool compress on the victim's abdomen. To do this, you can use a wet cloth or frozen food.
Surgery
The operation is necessary to stop internal bleeding, which can be fatal. Immediately before surgery, doctors normalize hemodynamics by transfusion of blood substitutes or blood.
If the victim is in critical condition, doctors perform an emergency operation to remove and stitch the organ without stopping the transfusion.
Just a few decades ago, when the spleen was ruptured and bleeding, doctors resorted to one way to eliminate the pathology - the complete removal of the affected organ.
Today, such an operation is assigned only in such cases:
- lack of possibility to suture the wound;
- departure of the organ from the leg;
- cutting seams;
- tears and fissures towards the hilum of the spleen;
- through and lacerated stab wounds, gunshot wounds.
In all other cases, there is simply no reason to completely remove the damaged organ, so it remains partially or even entirely.
Rehabilitation period
To mitigate the impact on immunity, they resort to the use of immunostimulatingfunds and vitamin-mineral complexes. A person who has had a ruptured spleen is advised to take these drugs for the rest of their lives.
In adults and children, rehabilitation after surgery lasts about 3-4 months, but despite such a short period, recovery is rather difficult. During this period, patients should observe bed rest, take medications prescribed by the doctor - painkillers and antibacterial drugs, and also adhere to a strict therapeutic diet.
Doctors' recommendations
The daily menu of the affected person should consist of the following dishes:
- hateful broths based on vegetables, fish, lean meats;
- porridge made from green buckwheat, oatmeal, barley, millet and brown rice;
- stewed or boiled red fish;
- stewed or steamed vegetables - bell peppers, all varieties of cabbage, courgettes and potatoes.
To fully restore the body, it is recommended to consume about 2000-2200 calories during the day.
During the rehabilitation period, it is strictly forbidden to smoke and drink all kinds of alcoholic beverages.
If all the doctor's recommendations are followed, the pain in the spleen recedes in just 2-3 weeks.
For people who have undergone a complete removal of a damaged organ, it is very important to avoid hypothermia in order to prevent weakening of the immune system. If it was not possible to prevent the development of the disease, you cannot self-medicate.
Besides everythingamong other things, a person after a ruptured spleen should refuse to travel to countries where there is a high risk of contracting malaria, systematically play sports and undergo an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity during the first two years after the operation.
Probable Consequences
What is the danger of a ruptured spleen? This condition can lead to almost any consequences, up to death. It all depends on the state of he alth of the injured person, the circumstances of the injury, its extensiveness and the correctness of the first aid provided. But even timely surgical intervention is not able to fully restore the previous state of the body and return to its former way of life. In fact, the operation only allows you to stop the bleeding and save the damaged organ, at least partially.
Conclusion
After surgery, most patients experience a weakening of the immune system, an increase in the number of platelets. The protective capabilities of the body are suppressed, because of which a person begins to get sick much more often and longer. At the same time, the diseases themselves occur in a more severe form.
The functions that the spleen performed before the injury, after the removal of the organ, the liver takes over. So the whole organism suffers from damage, and not its individual parts.
