Can a splenic infarction be fatal?
A splenic infarction can be life-threatening under certain circumstances. Often it is not the infarction itself that is responsible for the death of the person affected, but rather the previous illnesses that caused the infarction. For example, a tumor or cancer of the blood cells.
Likewise, removal of the spleen after a major infarction can greatly increase the risk of death. People without a spleen are not sufficiently protected against infections and run the risk of developing serious infections. Without the protective effect of the immune cells from the spleen, these can sometimes be fatal.
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