After Laparoscopic Splenectomy

Activity

• Ask for help with chores and errands while you get better.

• Don’t lift anything heavier than 10 pounds.

• Don’t do strenuous activity. Build up your activity levels as you heal.

Incision care

• Check your incisions daily for signs of infection. Look for redness, swelling, and fluid leaking from the incision. Infection may also cause the edges of an incision to open up.

• Shower carefully. Keep the incision dry. Don't soak in a bath until the incision is healed or until your healthcare provider says it's OK.

• Wash your incision gently. Use mild soap and warm water. Pat dry.

Other home care

• Take pain medicine as instructed

• Check your temperature each day for 7 days after the surgery. Call your healthcare provider if your temperature is higher than 100.4°F (38°C), or as directed by your provider. 

• Gradually return to a regular diet as you feel able to. It's important for healing to eat a healthy diet.

• If you are constipated from pain medicine, take a fiber supplement and or stool softener as prescribed. Talk with your healthcare provider about any symptoms that don't go away.

Preventing and treating infections

You have a higher risk of infection now because you don’t have a spleen. You are especially at high risk for infections from some bacteria, such as certain types of pneumonia and meningitis. There are ways to manage this risk. These include:

• Take antibiotic medicine as directed by your healthcare provider. This helps stop infection. Take all of this medicine until it's gone, even if you feel better.

• Talk to your healthcare provider about what vaccines you should have. Most people who have elective splenectomy get vaccines against a certain type of bacteria before surgery. These vaccines need to be updated every 5 to 10 years. 

• See your healthcare provider even for mild illnesses. These include colds or sinus problems. Your healthcare provider may want to give you antibiotics and watch your health.

• Tell all of your healthcare providers that you have had your spleen taken out. This includes your dentist, primary healthcare provider, and nurse practitioner.

• Wear a medical alert ID bracelet that says you don’t have a spleen.

When to call your healthcare provider 

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have:

• Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or as directed by your healthcare provider

• Dizziness or lightheadedness

• Any unusual bleeding

• Nausea or vomiting that doesn’t get better

• Pain, warmth, drainage, or redness in the skin around the incisions that gets worse

• Incisions that open up or pull apart