All about Floating Spleen

What is Floating Spleen?

Floating Spleen is a rare disorder that is described by malevolence double-jointedness that leads to perpetuation or underdeveloped of the spleen’s suspensory connective. It is present as a symptomless, detectable observable abdominal mass or with severe, chronic, or sporadic signs because of meander of the wandering spleen. Floating Spleen is a rare clinical condition defined by splenic hypermobility that occurs because of elongation or maldevelopment of the spleen’s suspensory ligaments. It can present as an asymptomatic, palpable abdominal mass or with acute, chronic, or intermittent symptoms due to torsion of the wandering spleen.

What are the symptoms of Floating Spleen?

The symptoms of Floating Spleen are:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Blood in the stools
• Anaemia
• Vomiting blood
• Unusual low level of blood platelets a condition known as thrombocytopenia

What are the Causes of Floating Spleen?

The main cause of floating spleen is the prolongation or maldevelopment of the spleen’s suspensory ligaments. It is not a common disease in fact it’s quite rare entity and children are mostly affected by it. In adults, it is usually developed in females when they reach reproductive age. It’s not a genetic disease, Floating spleen mostly occurs during birth. It can occur in male adults because of injuries, accidents and same type of conditions that lead to ligaments to weaken, including connective tissue disease. Floating spleen predisposes the spleen to complications like contortion, Infarction of the spleen, pancreatic necrosis and pseudocyst formation but very rarely.

What are the risk factors of Floating Spleen?

The risk factors of Floating Spleen are difficult to find out because research is going on even in this period still some assumed risk factors are explained by professional doctors.

Floating spleen is not a usual condition and in happens in both sexes irrespective of the age, but is more common among the women of reproductive age and in children. This disorder is in all likelihood occurs as a result of congenital anomalies of growth of the rearward mesogastrium, but acquired factors may have a role in certain cases.

What are the complications of Floating Spleen?

The most common complication of floating spleen is torsion other complications are splenic infarction, splenic abscess, variceal hemorrhage, and pancreatic tail necrosis.

How to Diagnose Floating spleen?

Floating spleen can be diagnosed through:

Blood Test: A sample of your blood will be taken and they will send it to lab to check if some disorders in the blood is causing the problem

CT Scan: In this test a detailed internal image of the body will be taken and then the doctor will see if there is any internal issue.

MRI Scan: MRI is a medical imaging procedure where a magnetic field and computer-generated radio waves is created to get detailed images of parts of your body to diagnose Floating Spleen.

What are the treatment options of Floating Spleen?

Splenopexy is the treatment of choice for a noninfarcted wandering spleen. Splenectomy should be done only when there is no evidence of splenic blood flow after detorsion of the spleen. We review our experience with wandering spleen in two pediatric patients, one treated with splenopexy and the other with splenectomy.

If an enlarged spleen leads to serious health problems and if the cause can’t be detected or treated, surgery is the last option or splenectomy may  be an option but it’s not sure shoot solution and that’s surgery is best hope to treat Floating Spleen.

Living with Floating Spleen

Living with floating spleen is quite hard as it results in symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, blood in the stools, anaemia, vomiting blood, and the level of blood platelets gets very low and it’s also called as thrombocytopenia. In adulthood, wandering spleen most often causes abdominal pain or present as an abdominal mass that does not cause symptoms (asymptomatic)

Whom to consult?

In case you notice signs or symptoms of Floating Spleen in you or your then immediately contact a doctor who is specialist in Floating Spleen get a check up to make sure whether you have this particular disease or any other and start taking treatment accordingly. And always prefer a doctor who is a specialist in this field otherwise the condition may become even more worse.