Spleen Injury
A spleen injury may consist of a cut, bruise, or tear.
Your child’s belly (abdomen) has been injured. This has led to a spleen injury. The injury may be a cut, bruise, or tear.
- The spleen is in the upper left part of the belly.
- The spleen does a few things, such as filtering blood and helping fight infections.
- Due to where the spleen is in the body and its size, it can get injured easily.
Grading System
Doctors use a grading system to describe how serious the spleen injury is.
- This grading system is based on how big and deep the injury is. It ranges from Grade 1 to 5.
- Grade 1 is the smallest cut or bruise.
- Grade 5 is a large cut or complex injury with a high risk for bleeding.
- The surgeon will use this grading scale to decide how to treat your child.
- The grading scale is also used as a guide for your child to return to play and sports.
Treatment
Most of the time, the spleen will heal itself. Treatment is based on your child’s injury.
- If the injury is severe, surgery may be needed to repair the spleen. Surgery to remove the spleen is called a splenectomy (spluh-nek-tuh-mee).
- The doctor or health care provider will monitor your child’s blood levels and order medicine to control pain.
Care at Home
After your child leaves the hospital, they cannot play sports or take part in gym class until approved by the trauma clinic.
Call the trauma clinic if your child has:
- Belly pain that gets worse
- A fever over 100.8º Fahrenheit (F) or 38.2º Celsius (C)
- Dizziness
- Nausea and vomiting (throwing up)
Helping Hands Patient Education Materials
Written and illustrated by medical, nursing and allied health professionals at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Helping Hand instructions are intended as a supplement to verbal instructions provided by a medical professional. The information is periodically reviewed and revised to reflect our current practice. However, Nationwide Children's Hospital is not responsible for any consequences resulting from the use or misuse of the information in the Helping Hands.
HH-I-670 | ©2023, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
