JERUSALEM, May 19 (Xinhua) -- A huge 40-cm long spleen, weighing about 10 kg, was removed from a patient's body, Ziv Medical Center in northern Israel said Tuesday.
The average size of a normal spleen is about the size of a fist, weighing about 200 grams.
According to the hospital's statement, the splenectomy operation was inevitable because the patient, a 56-year-old man, was diagnosed with lymphoma tumor in his spleen.
Because of the spleen's abnormal size, it shoved other organs and put heavy pressure on the patient's diaphragm, causing substantial breathing difficulty.
Spleen removal surgeries are usually performed with a laparoscopic method, in which small incisions are made in the patient's body and performed under the supervision of a camera.
In this case, however, the rare size of the spleen required a standard surgical procedure.
"I don't remember a splenectomy operation with such a huge spleen. There was a great difficulty due to the size of the spleen and its adherence to many internal organs," said Ivgeny Solomonov, director of the hospital's surgical department.
He added that despite the concern that other organs, especially pancreas and blood vessels, would be damaged, the surgery was completed successfully. Enditem
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)