Re: Spleen

[Guest guest]

Hi Abijann, I did not know this, I will ask Dr. about , when he

feels ok he rides a bike. This would not be good if he has this problem

also..Thank You..........God Bless..........Hope

>

> People who have liver cirrhosis can develop an enlargement of the

> spleen...this is known as Splenomegaly. Spleno means spleen and

> megaly means to increase in size or become larger.

>

> This can be caused by portal hypertension, though there are many

> other reasons that the spleen enlarges. When the blood doesn't

> flow well through the liver...it backs up into the portal vein

> under the liver. It also backs up into smaller vessels not used

> to handling this amount of blood and it also causes congestion

> in the splenic vessels also.

>

> The spleen does enlarge some as it performs its normal functions.

> Most of the time it can not be felt because it is located higher

> up under the rib cage on the patients left hand side. However...

> if someone has COPD or their diaphragm is lower than normal or

> the patient is very thin...the doctor can sometimes feel the spleen

> through the skin.

>

> People who have an enlarged spleen are more likely to have

> splenic rupture...therefore they should be careful about

> any blunt abdominal injury or trauma. Their spleen is

> abnormal now in regards to architecture, capsule tensile strength,

> and hemostatic function.

>

> Because of the enlargement, patients will cirrhosis may notice

> that their platelet counts may become lower in the blood.

> The doctors will watch this closely...platelets can get caught up

> in the spleen and not be released efficiently into the blood now.

> The doctor has to decide if this is the cause of the lower platelet

> count or if the proliferation of the platelets have gone lower.

>