Single segment of spleen autotransplantation, after splenectomy for trauma, can restore splenic functions

Background: Splenectomy is sometimes necessary after abdominal trauma, but splenectomized patients are at risk of sepsis due to impaired immunological functions. To overcome this risk, autotransplantation of the spleen by using a new technique has been proposed, but so far, a demonstration of functionality of the transplanted tissue is lacking. Methods: We therefore evaluated 5 patients who underwent a splenic autotransplant in comparison with 5 splenectomized patients without splenic autotransplant and 7 normal subjects. Results: We confirmed that the patients not undergoing autotransplantation, when compared to normal subjects, had a higher platelet count, higher percentage of micronucleated reticulocytes (p = 0.002), increased levels of naive B lymphocytes (p = 0.01), a defect of class-switched memory (p = 0.001) and class-unswitched memory B cells (p = 0.002), and increased levels of PD1 on T lymphocytes CD8+ (p = 0.08). In contrast, no significant differences for any of the abovementioned parameters were recorded between patients who underwent spleen autotransplantation and normal subjects. Conclusion: These findings suggest that splenic autotransplantation is able to restore an adequate hemocatheretic activity as well as recover the immunological deficit after splenectomy.