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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffAn enlarged spleen often causes no symptoms. Some people, however, may experience one or more of the following symptoms of enlarged spleen:
- Pain in the left upper abdomen that may spread to the left shoulder
- Feeling full without eating or after eating only a small amount — this can occur when an enlarged spleen presses on your stomach
- Anemia
- Fatigue
- Frequent infections
- Easy bleeding
See your doctor promptly if you have pain in your left upper abdomen, especially if it's severe or the pain gets worse when you take a deep breath.
- Johnson HA, et al. Massive Splenomegaly. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1989 Feb;168(2):131-7, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2911790. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- Splenomegaly. Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. November 2005, http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec14/ch179/ch179b.html. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- Patient Information for Spleen Removal (Splenectomy) from SAGES. The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Laparoscopic Surgeons, http://www.sages.org/sagespublication.php?doc=PI12.
- Chronic Myloproliferative Disorders. National Cancer Institute, http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/templates/doc.aspx?viewid=0edcce21-e137-437f-82d6-7f81a60337e0&version=1&allpages=1. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- The Spleen. Journal of the American Medical Association. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/294/20/2660.pdf. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- Martin MB, et al. Thalassemia and the Spleen. The Cooley's Anemia Foundation. http://www.cooleysanemia.org/updates/Spleen1.pdf. Accessed July 15, 2008.
- Splenomegaly. Merck Manuals Online Medical Library, http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec11/ch138/ch138b.html. Accessed July 15, 2008.
