• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2020

Splenic hilar lymph node dissection has been the standard treatment for advanced proximal gastric cancer. Splenectomy is typically performed as part of this procedure. However, splenectomy has some disadvantages, such as increased risk of postoperative complications, especially pancreatic fistula. Moreover, patients who underwent splenectomy are vulnerable to potentially fatal infection caused by encapsulated bacteria. Furthermore, several studies have shown an association of splenectomy with cancer development and increased risk of thromboembolic events. Therefore, splenectomy should be avoided if it does not confer a distinct oncological advantage. Most studies that compared patients who underwent splenectomy and those who did not failed to demonstrate the efficacy of splenectomy. Based on the results of a randomized controlled trial conducted in Japan, prophylactic dissection with splenectomy is no longer recommended in patients with gastric cancer with no invasion of the greater curvature. However, patients with greater curvature invasion or those with remnant gastric cancer still need to undergo splenectomy to facilitate splenic hilar node dissection. Spleen-preserving splenic hilar node dissection is a new procedure that may help delink splenic hilar node dissection and splenectomy. In this review, we examine the evidence pertaining to the efficacy and disadvantages of splenectomy. We discuss the possibility of spleen-preserving surgery for prophylactic splenic hilar node dissection to overcome the disadvantages of splenectomy.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.192-195
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• 2010

Splenic rupture is a frequent surgical emergency in blunt abdominal trauma patients. There are several treatment options, including conservative treatment, a partial splenectomy, splenorrhaphy, and a splenectomy for splenic injury. Although reports on the safety and the efficacy of an elective laparoscopic splenectomy are abundant in the literature, a laparoscopic splenectomy for a ruptured spleen has only been reported in a few cases. We report a case of a laparoscopic splenectomy in the patient with Grade III traumatic splenic injury. To our knowledge, this is the first report in which a laparoscopic splenectomy was performed in Korea for the treatment of a traumatic splenic injury.

• Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.48-52
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• 2024

Backgrounds/Aims: Splenectomy is the most frequently performed procedure as definitive management or as part of shunt surgery or devascularization in portal hypertension. Splenectomy is technically challenging because of the frequent coexistence of multiple collateral varices, splenomegaly, poor liver function, and thrombocytopenia. Early arterial ligation and late mobilization (EALDEM) is the traditional method for splenectomy in portal hypertension. Early spleen mobilization offers good control of the hilum. We aim to compare the effect of the early mobilization and delayed arterial ligation (EMDAL) technique with that of the conventional splenectomy technique in patients with portal hypertension. Methods: During the study period from September 2011 to September 2022, 173 patients underwent surgical intervention for portal hypertension at our institution. Among these patients, 114 underwent the conventional method of splenectomy (early arterial ligation and late splenic mobilization) while 59 underwent splenectomy with the EMDAL technique. Demographics were compared between the two groups. Intraoperative and postoperative outcomes were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test in each group. A minimum follow-up of 12 months was performed in each group. Results: Demographics and type of surgical procedure were comparable in the two surgical method groups. Median blood loss was higher in the conventional group than in the EMDAL method. The median duration of surgery was comparable in the two surgical procedures. Clavien-Dindo grade III/IV complications were reported more frequently in the conventional group. Conclusions: The splenic hilum can be controlled well and bleeding can be minimised with early mobilization and delayed arterial ligation.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2020

Gastrectomy with lymph node dissection remains the gold standard for curative treatment of gastric cancer. Dissection of splenic hilar lymph nodes has been included as a part of D2 lymph node dissection for proximal gastric cancer. Previously, pancreatico-splenectomy has been performed for dissecting splenic hilar lymph nodes, followed by pancreas-preserving splenectomy and spleen-preserving lymphadenectomy. However, the necessity of routine splenectomy or splenic hilar lymph node dissection has been under debate due to the increased morbidity caused by splenectomy and the poor prognostic feature of splenic hilar lymph node metastasis. In contrast, the relatively high incidence of splenic hilar lymph node metastasis, survival advantage, and therapeutic value of splenic hilar lymph node dissection in some patient subgroups, as well as the effective use of novel technologies, still supports the necessity and applicability of splenic hilar lymph node dissection. In this review, we aimed to evaluate the need for splenic hilar lymph node dissection and suggest the subgroup of patients with favorable outcomes.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.12.1-12.4
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• 2022

A 16-year-old, 7.4 kg, castrated male Cocker Spaniel presenting anorexia and weight loss was referred due to a splenic mass, and total splenectomy was performed to resolve clinical signs. Following surgery, the dog developed mild hyperkalemia (6.27 mmol/L) without any clinical symptoms. Further investigations were conducted to determine the cause of hyperkalemia. The serum-plasma potassium difference was measured (1.05 mmol/L), and pseudohyperkalemia was diagnosed. The cause of pseudohyperkalemia was considered as thrombocytosis after splenectomy. The dog did not receive any specific treatment to lower blood potassium. To our knowledge, we report the first case of post-splenectomy pseudohyperkalemia in a dog.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.212-224
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• 2019

Purpose: Splenic hilar lymph node dissection (LND) during total gastrectomy is regarded as the standard treatment for proximal advanced gastric cancer (AGC). This study aimed to investigate whether splenic hilar LND or D2 LND is essential for proximal AGC of pT2- 4aN0M0 stage. Materials and Methods: Data of curative total gastrectomies (n=370) performed from 2000 to 2010 for proximal AGC of pT2-4aN0 stage were retrospectively reviewed. Clinicopathological characteristics and long-term outcomes were compared using propensity score matching between patients who underwent splenectomy (n=43) and those who did not (n=327) and between patients who underwent D2 LND (n=122) and those who underwent D1+ LND (n=248). Results: Tumors of larger size and a more advanced T stage and significantly lower overall and relapse-free survival (P<0.001) were observed in the splenectomy group than in the 2 spleen-preserving groups. Before propensity score matching, worse overall and relapse-free survival (P<0.001) was observed in the splenectomy group than in the non-splenectomy group. After matching, although the overall survival became similar (P=0.123), relapse-free survival was worse in the splenectomy group (P=0.021). Compared with D1+ LND, D2 LND had no positive impact on the overall (P=0.619) and relapse-free survival (P=0.112) after propensity score matching. Conclusions: Splenic hilar LND with or without splenectomy may not have an oncological benefit for patients with pathological AGC with no LN metastasis.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.392-402
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• 2021

Purpose: Type 4 gastric cancer (GC) has a very poor prognosis even after curative resection, and the survival benefit of splenectomy for splenic hilar lymph node (LN; #10) dissection in type 4 GC remains equivocal. This study aimed to clarify the clinical significance of splenectomy for #10 dissection in patients with type 4 GC. Materials and Methods: The data of a total of 56 patients with type 4 GC who underwent total gastrectomy with splenectomy were retrospectively analyzed. Postoperative morbidity, state of LN metastasis, survival outcomes, and therapeutic value index (TVI) of each LN station were evaluated. TVI was calculated by multiplying the incidence of LN metastasis at each nodal station and the 5-year overall survival (OS) of patients who had metastasis to each node. Results: Overall, the postoperative morbidity rate was 28.6%, and the incidence of #10 metastasis in the patients was 28.6%. The 5-year OS rate for all patients was 29.9%, and most patients developed peritoneal recurrence. Moreover, the 5-year OS rates with and without #10 metastasis were 6.7% and 39.1% (median survival time, 20.4 vs. 46.0 months; P=0.006). The TVI of #10 was as low as 1.92. Conclusions: The clinical significance of splenectomy in the dissection of #10 for type 4 GC is limited and splenectomy for splenic hilar dissection alone should be omitted.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.53-57
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• 1999

Pediatric laparoscopic splenectomy has been gradually accepted as the surgical management of a various splenic disorders, particularly in hematologic diseases. We report our experience with 16 patients who underwent this procedure because of hematologic disorders during the past 3 and a half years at the Department of Surgery, St. Mary's Hospital, the Catholic University Medical College. The mean age was 10 years(range 6-16 years) and the mean spleen weight was 210 gm(range 85-500 g). The indication for splenectomy were hereditary spherocytosis(6 cases), idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura(8 cases), autoimmune hemolytic anemia(1 case), and idiopathic splenomegaly(1 case). All splenectomies were performed safely with mean estimated blood loss of 233 ml. Mean operative time and mean postoperative hospital stay were 157 min and 4.5 days, respectively. Postoperative pain, medication was needed in 3 cases, just one injection in immediate postoperative period. Diet was started on the second or third postoperative day. In conclusion, laparoscopic splenectomy in pediatric patients is a safe procedure, offering a small of abdominal scar, much less pain, a shorter hospital stay and car the lower postoperative morbidity.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 2020

Pancreatic and gastric fistulas are rare complications of emergency splenectomy, and it is extremely rare for a pancreatic fistula to be further complicated by a fistulation into the stomach. Here, we present a case of pancreatogastric fistula in a 60-year-old man who experienced polytrauma due to a blunt mechanism. He underwent emergency splenectomy for splenic injury and developed a pancreatic fistula as a complication. A percutaneous endoscopic procedure was performed to drain the fistula, after which he developed a pancreatogastric fistula as a further complication. A double-pigtail stent was inserted via gastroscopy into the fistula tract to allow internal drainage of the pancreatic collection into the stomach cavity. When a pancreatic fistula is complicated by gastric fistulation, endoscopic stenting of the pancreatogastric fistula tract for internal drainage is an effective treatment option.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.160-163
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• 1997

Three cases of laparoscopic splenectomy for hereditary spherocytosis are reported. The average operation time was 100 minutes. This was longer than traditional open splenectomy for the same entity(63 minutes). Average hospitalization period was 3 days. This was shorter than the hospitalization period for the traditional group(6.2 days).