The influence of trauma to the spleen on postoperative complications and mortality.

Although splenectomy has been associated with an increased risk of late sepsis, it is not clear whether splenectomy for trauma increases the incidence of acute infectious complications or deaths during the initial hospital stay. We reviewed the charts of 175 trauma patients who had exploratory laparotomy between July 1977 and June 1983. Eighty patients underwent total splenectomy and 15 patients had splenic salvage operations performed. A group of 80 patients with no splenic trauma (N.S.T.) who had laparotomy for trauma, served as a control group. These N.S.T. patients had injury severity scores (ISS) similar to the patients who had splenectomy. The incidence and types of postoperative complications, mortality rates, and length of hospitalization were similar for both groups, indicating that splenectomy was not associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications or mortality.