Abstract
ABSTRACT
By 1994, 66 cases of wandering spleen (splenoptosis) had been reported in children under 10 years of age. Because splenic torsion may cause acute abdominal pain or infarction, either splenectomy or elective splenopexy using one of a variety of described techniques is required; splenic conservation is preferred in children. Elective laparoscopic splenopexy for fixation of a wandering spleen has, to our knowledge, not yet been described. We adapted a well-described open method of splenopexy to an elective laparoscopic approach. We describe this technique as (1) assessing the location and mobility of the spleen through the laparoscope, (2) fashioning a rectangle of absorbable mesh into a pouch and inserting it into the abdomen, (3) securing the spleen within the pouch, and (4) attaching the pouch to the left diaphragm. A rapid and uneventful recovery may be anticipated, and a later computed tomography scan should show the spleen in the left upper quadrant.
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