Surgeons in Lviv removed an enlarged spleen from a 25-year-old woman using five small incisions.

Surgeons at the St. Luke's Hospital in Lviv have removed the enlarged spleen of 25-year-old Diana Kis from Lviv Oblast, which had become a serious threat to her life due to illness. To minimize the trauma to the patient, the surgeons innovatively fragmented the organ inside the abdominal cavity and extracted it in pieces through small incisions.

Diana worked as a nanny in Croatia. Two years ago, she was hospitalized with complaints of shortness of breath, fatigue, and drowsiness. After an examination, foreign doctors diagnosed her with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, a condition characterized by the premature breakdown of red blood cells, leading to increased strain on the spleen and liver, the hospital reported.

For a while, medication helped Diana cope with the effects of the illness. In the fall of 2023, she returned to Ukraine and within a month was admitted to intensive care: her hemoglobin level was critically low at 45, while the normal range for women is from 120. As a result, her blood and organs were insufficiently saturated with oxygen, causing shortness of breath and weakness. The hospital indicated that when hemoglobin levels drop below 40, this condition is termed a hemolytic crisis, where the body lacks oxygen to such an extent that it poses a life-threatening risk. Diana experienced such crises as well.

Additionally, the young woman had a pathologically enlarged spleen due to her illness. Even the slightest injury could have led to its rupture, internal bleeding, and death. The surgeons at St. Luke's Hospital, whom she consulted, recommended spleen removal. This was the only way to improve her condition: eliminating the risk of bleeding and normalizing her hemoglobin levels. Diana made the decision to proceed with the surgery only after five months.

"The surgeons decided to operate on the patient without making an abdominal incision, using five small punctures: two of 1.5 cm and three of 1 cm. Through these, they utilized a special instrument called a morcellator to fragment the spleen within the abdominal cavity and successfully extracted it in parts. At that time, the organ had increased to three times its normal size, measuring 25 cm," the hospital stated.

The removal of the spleen reduced the strain on the liver, whose function will eventually fully recover. Diana's hemoglobin levels will also return to normal. Currently, her illness has entered a stage of stable remission. Diana is now at home, feeling much better and making plans for the future. She dreams of opening a private kindergarten, as she has an endless love for children.