A Laparoscopic Splenectomy in Combination with Cholecystectomy in the Treatment of Hereditary Spherocytosis and Cholecystolithiasis

Toru Beppu, Yoshihiro Masuda, Shigeru Katafuchi, Hiroshi Egami, Kazuko Sakai, Mikako Ueno, Makoto Hashizume*, Makoto Kawakita**, Kiyoshi Takatsuki**, Michio Ogawa

Department of Surgery II and **Internal Medicine II, Kumamoto University Medical School
*Department of Surgery II, Kyusyu University Medical School

We performed laparoscopic splenectomy in combination with cholecystectomy in a 16-year-old girl with hereditary spherocytosis and cholecystolithiasis. The levels of hemoglogin and serum total bilirubin returned to normal immediately after surgery. The laparoscopic procedure is less invasive than open cholecystectomy or splenectomy in terms of the changes in serum interleukin 6 levels after surgery. This approach can be used in the treatment of spherocytosis with cholecystolithiasis, and it offers both functional and cosmetic advantages.

Key words
hereditary spherocytosis, laparoscopic splenectomy, less invasive surgery

Reprint requests
Toru Beppu Department of Surgery II, Kumamoto University Medical School
1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto, 860 JAPAN

Accepted
January 10, 1996

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