Surgical Procedures for Sickle Cell Disease

Doctor | Living With Sickle Cell Disease | Resource Guide Surgical Procedures for Sickle Cell Disease by Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt, MD En Espanol (Spanish Version) For Treating Complications Surgical procedures that may be necessary to treat complications of sickle cell disease include: Splenectomy —to remove a spleen destroyed by sickle cell disease or to try to prevent recurrent sickle cell crises (the evidence that this can help is still incomplete) Hip replacement —to treat a hip destroyed by avascular necrosis Gall bladder surgery —to remove a gall bladder that isn’t functioning properly Laser eye surgery—for complications affecting your vision REFERENCES: Cecil Textbook of Medicine . 22nd ed. W.B. Saunders Company; 2003. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ . Owusu-Ofori S, Riddington C. Splenectomy versus conservative management for acute sequestration crises in people with sickle cell disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev . 2002;(4):CD003425. Sickle Cell Disease Association of America website. Available at: http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/ . Weiner CM. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine . 17th ed. New York, NY: McGraw – Hill; 2008.