[Asplenia: a study of 21 subjects splenectomized during childhood for spleen injury (author's transl)].

Clinical and biological studies were carried out in 21 subjects one to twenty-three years after the injured spleen had been removed. Asplenia did not give rise to clinical symptoms, did not facilitate infections and had no effect on growth. Laboratory investigations revealed a decrease in IgM in 6 subjects and minor quantitative and qualitative platelet abnormalities. The absence of Jolly's bodies in 7 subjects was suggestive of spleen regeneration, which was confirmed by scintigraphy in 2 cases. The significance of these findings in discussed.