Dr. Cappellini on Splenectomy in Gaucher Disease Patients

Maria D. Cappellini, MD, professor of Internal Medicine, Maggiore Hospital, Milan, Italy, discusses the complications that a splenectomy can cause in patients with Gaucher disease.

Splenectomies were performed many years ago in Gaucher patients, particularly when no other treatment options were available. Today there are still patients that undergo the procedure before a Gaucher diagnosis, which may be responsible for worsening the course of the disease.

Splenectomy may cause complications such as pulmonary hypertension, or onco-hematology diseases, mainly myeloma or leukemia. Citing these risk factors as well as the availability of proper treatment, Cappellini recommends that physicians do not splenectomize Gaucher patients.