Life after a splenectomy and appendectomy

This is about my little brother, he’s only 9, and something absolutely terrifying happened... This past Sunday, I was visiting him in Little Rock when he was playing with a ball and it went over a fence—about 4.5 feet high. He chased after it, but as he was jumping over the fence, he slipped and landed really awkwardly right on his stomach. He let out this awful cry, and since he started vomiting later, we decided to rush him to the hospital in Indianapolis. It was in the evening; they did an initial exam and didn't find anything immediately, but they decided to keep him for observation just in case. During the night, he took a turn for the worse, vomited again, and they had to run a whole battery of tests—ultrasound, CT scans, blood work, you name it. Turns out his spleen was injured; it swelled up first and then eventually ruptured. He has internal bleeding spreading through his abdomen, so within half an hour, they scheduled surgery. They had to open him up and remove his spleen, and they ended up taking his appendix too because apparently, there was some inflammation making it too risky to leave it in. After the surgery, he spent a day in the ICU hooked up to IVs, catheters, and tubes. On Tuesday, they moved him to a regular ward, and he's finally starting to recover steadily.

He looked pretty rough right after the operation; it was honestly so intense that his little sister actually felt sick just looking at him. My parents were in tears constantly at first, my mom was a wreck, and I was doing my absolute best to keep it together...

Since I’m super close to him—I babysit him a lot and he loves playing games on my PC—I’ve been wondering: what is life actually like without those two organs? From what I've read online, the spleen and appendix play a role in protecting the body against diseases and bacteria by filtering out toxins. I'm worried he's going to get sick much more often now... He has already been vaccinated against Strep. Some people tell me it's no big deal and you can live perfectly fine without them. I'd really love to hear your thoughts...

Thanks in advance.

It’s quite unsettling, I suppose,
life follows such strange patterns
In Japan, for instance—though I imagine similar logic might apply elsewhere in the States—they sometimes opt to remove the appendix from infants right at birth, simply because it seems unnecessary and might just lead to complications down the line.
As for my spleen, they’ll likely prescribe some medication, but I don't think it's anything too dire, since that organ isn't strictly indispensable either, I guess.

Regarding the spleen, I don't know all that much... but when it comes to the appendix, I guess I'm a bit more well-versed. Yeah, the appendix basically "cleans" the abdominal cavity of bacteria and helps prevent various inflammations—some people even call it the gut's tonsil. However, if that little thing gets inflamed (well, what actually gets removed is the vermiform appendix hanging off the cecum), it can lead to some pretty nasty consequences, so it’s usually better to just get it out. Since you can't really heal it on its own, surgery is the way to go—trying to fix it with just antibiotics often feels like it just drags out the agony for the patient. The inflammation turns chronic, and honestly, chronic issues are incredibly hard to diagnose because all the lab results come back looking perfectly fine, and those acute symptoms our doctors are so used to seeing just aren't there. The person suffering ends up dealing with constant nausea, mild bouts of abdominal pain, and this lingering chronic fatigue—plus, there's always the risk of the inflammation spreading to other organs (like the reproductive system in women), not to mention the danger of perforation and other complications. Some specialists overseas actually consider chronic appendicitis a "silent killer," a much trickier version of the ailment because of all the lymph nodes involved, which allows the inflammation to sort of "circulate" through the body. In my opinion, life is just objectively better without it, and if your little brother has been struggling with his appendix, his quality of life will likely be much, much higher once it's gone.
I went through this myself—for nearly two years, my life was an absolute nightmare. Back in '05, I had an acute bout of appendicitis without even realizing it happened. After that, it was just endless waves of pain, nausea, and exhaustion... and even my reproductive health started taking a hit. For those two years, my quality of life was basically non-existent. To make matters worse, doctors couldn't pin down a diagnosis because everything looked perfect on paper—all my tests were normal, yet I felt like I was in a "coma." Finally, I ran into this brilliant, sharp surgeon who actually listened to me—unlike everyone else—and he actually knew his stuff. He diagnosed me with chronic appendicitis immediately, we scheduled the surgery, and...
So, it's been exactly a week since my operation, and I have to say, I feel amazing. I'm just so relieved to finally be done with it and knowing I can live a normal life again... So, that's my experience, both with and without an appendix.
I'd tell you not to worry too much about your brother; I'm fairly certain he’ll have a great life even without it....
I truly hope he has a speedy recovery and can get back home for some TLC as soon as possible... he's still just a kid, after all, and recovering at home is always a bit easier.
Best,

Anonymous said:This is about my little brother, he’s only 9, and something absolutely terrifying happened... This past Sunday, I was visiting him in Little Rock when he was playing with a ball and it went over a fence—about 4.5 feet high. He chased after it, but as he was jumping over the fence, he slipped and landed really awkwardly right on his stomach. He let out this awful cry, and since he started vomiting later, we decided to rush him to the hospital in Indianapolis. It was in the evening; they did an initial exam and didn't find anything immediately, but they decided to keep him for observation just in case. During the night, he took a turn for the worse, vomited again, and they had to run a whole battery of tests—ultrasound, CT scans, blood work, you name it. Turns out his spleen was injured; it swelled up first and then eventually ruptured. He has internal bleeding spreading through his abdomen, so within half an hour, they scheduled surgery. They had to open him up and remove his spleen, and they ended up taking his appendix too because apparently, there was some inflammation making it too risky to leave it in. After the surgery, he spent a day in the ICU hooked up to IVs, catheters, and tubes. On Tuesday, they moved him to a regular ward, and he's finally starting to recover steadily.

He looked pretty rough right after the operation; it was honestly so intense that his little sister actually felt sick just looking at him. My parents were in tears constantly at first, my mom was a wreck, and I was doing my absolute best to keep it together...

Since I’m super close to him—I babysit him a lot and he loves playing games on my PC—I’ve been wondering: what is life actually like without those two organs? From what I've read online, the spleen and appendix play a role in protecting the body against diseases and bacteria by filtering out toxins. I'm worried he's going to get sick much more often now... He has already been vaccinated against Strep. Some people tell me it's no big deal and you can live perfectly fine without them. I'd really love to hear your thoughts...

Thanks in advance.

The spleen serves a few roles; it acts as a reservoir for red blood cells that get pumped back into the bloodstream if oxygen is needed quickly (like for free divers, though in everyday life, the body compensates for that lack just fine without a spleen). It also works as a filter, cleaning out old or faulty cells, and has an immunological role—releasing certain proteins (like tufsin) that help defend against encapsulated bacteria (think Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseriae). Losing the spleen is significant because it raises the risk of infections from those specific microbes, but that downside is managed quite effectively through vaccinations (there are great vaccines for Strep and Haemophilus; there is one for Neisseriae, though it doesn't cover Type B, which is the most common type here in the US) and chemoprophylaxis—basically using preventative antibiotics in suspicious situations or when coming into contact with someone infected by those organisms.
You can live perfectly normally without the appendix, too, without needing any special precautions.

Hey... my husband was in a wreck three years ago... long story short, his spleen ruptured and they had to take it out.
Living without a spleen:
1) You absolutely, SERIOUSLY have to get vaccinated against pneumococcus. For people without a spleen, pneumonia from it can be fatal. You get one shot, it covers you for five years, then you repeat.
2) About six months after the surgery, my husband caught reactive mononucleosis because his immune system took a hit, but it wasn't anything too crazy.
3) He just tires out a little faster than he used to.
4) No blood issues, aside from some thrombocytosis—basically an elevated platelet count—which is pretty standard when the spleen is gone. My husband has to take Andol100 every night, but that was specifically ordered by his hematologist.

Everything else turned out fine... don't sweat it.
Sending him good vibes for a quick and painless recovery.😉

It’s a heavy topic, but when it comes to the spleen and the appendix, everything is actually fine. You can live a completely normal life without an appendix, and honestly, the same goes for the spleen. I have a friend who was wounded during his service, and they ended up removing his spleen as part of the process. He's doing just fine now—well, at least regarding the spleen issue, since he had to have a leg amputated too.

Thanks so much for the help, I’m feeling a lot better about this now. Honestly, I was convinced it was way more dangerous than it actually is. If anyone else has any thoughts or advice, please feel free to chime in! 🙂

I felt like I had to revive this thread just to share my own story with you guys:

So, I'm a fifteen-year-old kid who ended up having my spleen removed, on top of already having had my appendix out previously.

It all kicked off two Saturdays ago when I was hanging out with some friends. I had no idea I was dealing with mononucleosis at the time, which meant my spleen, liver, and a lymph node in my neck were all swollen. Everything seemed fine until a friend and I—both feeling a little buzzed—started messing around and getting physical over some stupid joke. He was the first one to "roll up his sleeves" and landed a punch right in my upper abdomen. At the moment, I didn't think much of it; I figured it was just a hit and nothing serious, totally unaware that that single blow had actually damaged my spleen. We just kept walking like nothing happened. Sunday and Monday passed by, and I didn't feel any pain at all. Then Tuesday afternoon rolled around. I was at school during third period (around 4:00 PM), and I started feeling this dull ache in my left shoulder. By the end of the break and the start of fourth period, the pain in my stomach became intense, and I started breaking out in a cold sweat. What I didn't realize then was that I was bleeding internally—instead of staying inside the spleen, blood was spilling into my abdominal cavity. I called my dad on my cell and told him I wasn't feeling well and needed him to pick me up from school. I barely made it home through the pain and went straight to bed, trying to sleep it off. But then I had to use the bathroom, and I actually collapsed unconscious in the hallway. That’s when I knew things were getting serious. My dad rushed me to the Mayo Clinic. I even blacked out again while we were getting out of the car. Once I finally made it to the ICU, they ran every test imaginable—blood work, urine tests, and eventually an ultrasound. The ultrasound confirmed my spleen had ruptured and that there was a lot of free blood in my abdomen, so they immediately prepped me for surgery.
The surgery went well. I spent a week in the ICU hooked up to every possible catheter and IV drip you can imagine, followed by another week on the surgical floor. I finally got discharged yesterday. I'm feeling better every day, though I tire easily and have to be careful about standing or sitting for too long; mostly, I just need to lie down. The doctors told me I'll lead a perfectly normal life, provided I stay up to date on certain vaccinations and take it easy for a month or two while everything heals properly. The only thing bugging me is that everyone keeps telling me I can't smoke a cigarette for quite a while after the surgery. I don't really get why—it feels like they're just saying it to get me to quit altogether. My grandfather smoked after his bowel surgery and he was totally fine...

So now I'm wondering, if I were to have just one or two cigarettes a day, would it actually make things worse or not?

Thanks!

As far as the spleen goes, I don't see any issues at all. My best friend actually ended up living without his when he was only nine years old after a bad car accident. He functions perfectly fine now and feels great. Everything is going to be alright; you just have to get used to the new reality. Wishing the little one nothing but the best.

So, I actually lost my spleen when I was 13 (I'm 15 now), and honestly, life goes on just like before... It’s not like everything changed overnight, except maybe I catch colds way easier than most people. And when I'm out running, I don't really get any pain—I can run basically forever—but I definitely have to watch my breathing technique, otherwise I'll run out of air pretty fast. Also, alcohol hits me a lot harder than everyone else, so I have to be careful there. Plus, I really have to watch out for anyone bumping into my scar; if they hit it, man, it hurts like crazy...
The whole thing happened because I was sprinting across the street, tripped over some pothole, and slammed right into the curb. It hit my chest hard. I ended up begging my buddy to give me a lift on his bike handlebars straight to the ER. Once I got there, they did all the usual stuff—exams, tests, you know how it goes—but after that, things get a bit blurry. I remember being rushed into surgery overnight to get it removed. When I woke up the next day, I had 16 stitches and a drain sticking out of my stomach... That same day, the surgeons came by to explain that they had to take it out because I had some internal bleeding and my ribs were pretty banged up (thankfully they didn't actually break)🙂)) I won't bore you with every single tiny detail, but let me tell you, being stuck in the hospital after surgery is pretty brutal. I wouldn't wish that on anyone
Just thought I'd share a little bit of my story with you guys🙂))