Amniotic membrane wrapping: an alternative method to the splenorrhaphy in the injured spleen.

Human amnion, which has been used experimentally and clinically as an ideal bioprosthesis, was used in the present study to wrap the experimentally injured spleens and the technique was compared to splenorrhaphy. Standard splenic injuries were made on 30 male albino rats. 15 of the spleens were repaired by splenorrhaphy and the other 15 were wrapped with sterile human amniotic membrane. Isotope uptakes of the spleens calculated at the 30th postoperative day were similar in both groups (p less than 0.05). But the histopathological examination revealed a better healing in the amnion group with better preservation of the splenic architecture. It was concluded that in heavily injured spleens, amnion wrapping may be an effective alternative to splenorrhaphy.