Risks from Splenectomy / Spleen Removal

Evaluating Risk Factors: Splenectomy / Spleen Removal

Evaluating your likely current (and near future) state of health means taking into account the risk factors — such as having had a splenectomy — that affect you. Our medical diagnosis tool, The Analyst™, identifies major risk factors by asking the right questions.

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If you indicate having undergone surgery in the past, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Have you had a Splenectomy, a procedure in which the spleen is removed?

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No
→ Yes, to treat a separate medical condition
→ Yes, because it was damaged by injury
→ Yes, because of malignancy

The Diagnostic Process

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either having an intact spleen or having had a splenectomy, The Analyst™ will use differential diagnosis to consider possibilities such as Babesiosis. In Europe, reported fatal cases of babesiosis have occurred mostly in patients whose spleens have been removed, rendering them more vulnerable to infection. The offending parasite in these cases have been either B. divergens or B. major, to which humans (with spleens intact) are thought to be naturally resistant. In the U.S., reported fatal cases have occurred in patients both with and without spleens; B. microti may be a more virulent agent to which humans are not naturally resistant.

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™