1978 Volume 19 Issue 10 Pages 1387-1392
A 38-year old female with chronic myeloid leukemia was treated by splenectomy followed by remarkable thrombocytosis. She was diagnosed as CML because of anemia, leucocytosis and existence of Ph1 chromosome in bone marrow cells in 1973, and was successfully treated with Busulfan.
Her spleen began to enlarge progressively at the begining of 1976, and she complained occasionally of left-hypochondralgia due probably to infarction of the spleen from January, 1977. Hematological finding at this time showed increase of immature myeloid cells in her peripheral blood. Splenectomy was performed on 25 May, 1977 in order to prevent blastic crisis and infarction of the spleen. After splenectomy, the left-hypochondralgia subsided and immature myeloid cells decreased. However, platelet count in the peripheral blood and megakaryocytes in the bone marrow have been increasing prominently. The significance of splenectomy and the cause of remarkable thrombocytosis in this case were discussed.
