Laparoscopic Splenic Artery Ligation in the Treatment of Hypersplenism and Thrombocytopenia in Children / 中国微创外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effectiveness and feasibility of laparoscopic splenic artery ligation in the treatment of hypersplenism and thrombocytopenia in children. Methods From August 2014 to December 2014, four children with hypersplenism and three children with ITP (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura) were treated in our hospital.Laparoscopic splenic artery ligation was performed in all the patients.During the operation, the gastric colon ligament was cut with an ultrasonic knife, and the gastric wall was suspended to expose the pancreas and the spleen.The splenic artery was ligated at the upper edge of pancreas closing to the splenic hilum.The splenic venous branches were dissected and ligated at the splenic hilum by using the Hem-o-lok, which leaded to an area of splenic infarction more than 50%. Results The laparoscopic splenic artery ligation was successfully performed in all the patients, without conversion to open surgery.The operative time was 120-150 min ( mean, 126 min) , and the intraoperative blood loss was 10-20 ml ( mean, 15 ml) .No patient underwent blood transfusion.The length of postoperative hospital stay varied from 4 to 11 days (mean, 6.6 days).The splenic length significantly decreased postoperatively [(13.6 ±2.6) cm vs.(15.1 ±1.7) cm, t=3.199, P=0.049], and so was the splenic thickness [(3.8 ±1.0) cm vs.(4.1 ±0.8) cm, t =3.703, P=0.034].Partial splenic infarction and decreased splenic blood flow were found in the 7 patients by postoperative ultrasound.After surgery, four children suffered from fever, which were 38.8 ℃, 39.0 ℃, 38.6 ℃, and 39.2 ℃, with the duration of fever of 2, 4, 8, and 5 days, respectively.All the patients were followed-up for 6 -10 months (mean, 8.4 months).The complete blood cell count was within normal range. Conclusion The laparoscopic splenic artery ligation is an effective treatment for hypersplenism and thrombocytopenia in children.