A simple and safe method for preservation of the injured spleen.

A total of 29 patients sustaining closed injuries of the spleen was evaluated after repair of the organ; 11 were children. The injuries were classified as grade II, 5; grade III, 22; and grade IV, 2. The spleens were repaired with figure-of-eight, 0 chromic catgut stitches placed at right-angles to the rupture using a liver needle. A thin layer of Surgicel was placed over the tear and each free side of the stitch. Haemorrhage from the spleen was controlled with this technique in 27 patients. Two patients with grade IV injury underwent ligation of the lower pole vessels and hemisplenectomy combined with patching and suture. Postoperative bleeding occurred in two patients with grade III injury, who then underwent splenectomy. The splenic function after splenorrhaphy was established to be perfect and there were no deaths. This modified technique of repair is a simple and safe method for preservation of the injured spleen.