Enlarged Spleen Symptoms

Spleen is located on the left side of the upper quadrant of the abdomen. It plays vital roles in the overall health and well-being of the body. The functions of the spleen include mechanical filtration of red blood cells and active immune responses by producing antibodies against pathogenic foreign bodies. Various diseases and disorders such as cirrhosis, cancer and microbial infections causes enlargement of spleen. In medicine, the condition of enlarged spleen is described as splenomegaly. Enlarged spleen is many-a-times devoid of any symptoms. Most of the patients do not know that they are suffering from spleen enlargement. In majority of the cases, it is found during physical examinations being conducted for some other medical condition.

Symptoms of Enlarged Spleen

• An enlarged spleen causes mild to severe pain in the abdomen. The pain may further radiate to left arm or shoulder. This indicates dying of the spleen.
• A constant feeling of fullness, even on eating little or nothing is another noticeable symptom of enlarged spleen problems. This occurs mainly because of its position, which is next to the stomach.
• Enlarged spleen causes reduction in the platelet count of blood. It further results in easy bleeding.
• An enlarged spleen removes too many red blood cells and white blood cells, which causes anemia and weakening of immune system respectively.
• Some other borderline enlarged spleen symptoms include fatigue, jaundice and weight loss.
• Many patients feel sharp pain at the back as one of the enlarged liver spleen symptoms.
• In serious cases, the abdominal pain is severe and get worse on breathing. You should seek immediate medical attention.

Enlarged Spleen Treatments

A doctor usually suspects enlarged spleen when the patient complains of fullness of stomach even without eating. He is generally able to feel the enlarged spleen by palpating the left upper region of the abdomen. To confirm the presence of splenomegaly, the doctor may conduct certain radiological diagnostic tests. They include X-ray, computerized tomographic scanning and ultrasound. He studies the images obtained from these tests to determine the increase in the normal size of spleen and its impact on the surrounding organs. He may also conduct another radiological test called magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) so that the flow of blood through the spleen can be traced out.

The doctor can ask for blood tests as well. The blood test is performed to determine the count of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. The shape and size of the blood cells also helps the doctor by giving some indications of a possible disease that may be responsible for enlarged spleen. Measurement of protein in the blood also assists in such an evaluation. The diseases that can cause enlarged spleen and liver are amyloidosis, kala-azar, malaria and tuberculosis. For enlarged spleen treatments, the doctor generally treats the medical condition that is actually the reason behind enlarged spleen symptoms. In serious cases of splenomegaly, he may remove the enlarged spleen by surgery.

The post operative result of surgical removal of enlarged spleen is a weakened immune system. The patient becomes more susceptible to diseases and infections. However, nowadays, medical treatments use radiotherapy to shrink the size of the enlarged spleen very effectively. Spleen plays many important roles in your body. As already discussed above, its diseased state affects the count of blood cells. Hence, it causes a direct negative impact on your body's immune system and various physiological processes. Therefore, it is very important that enlarged spleen symptoms are not neglected and that the enlarged spleen is treated at the earliest to prevent any further complications arising from it.