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Infant Has Enlarged Liver And Spleen. Cause?
Question: What can be causing my 8 month old to have an enlarge liver and spleen?
Dear XXXXXXX
Your son's history is truly one that is heart-wrenching. I commend you and his father for enduring this difficult time of your life. I feel sorry for the boy too, as he has had more than his share of misery from the time he was born until today. It is quite possible that the liver and spleen felt in his abdomen could be normal. About 20% of normal babies have a liver and spleen that can be felt by the doctor. However, a liver or spleen that is felt is not necessarily enlarged. Therefore, your statement that these are enlarged in his case mean that there is true enlargment detected on the ultrasound examination.
I would like to know what, if any other tests, have been done in him in the past month or so. In particular, I would be interested in seeing his full blood count, his liver function tests and his blood smear examination. There are several causes of an enlarged liver and spleen, but these few tests will help a lot in reaching a proper diagnosis.
Of course, there are rarer illnesses, some hereditary, and some acquired, which also cause the same problems, but we would first like to rule out the commoner causes, not the rare ones. I request you to share all his reports done within the past month or two.
Will await your response. You can take pictures of the reports and attach them, or you can scan them on to your laptop and then send them to me through this question.
With best wishes,
Dr. Taher
Your son's history is truly one that is heart-wrenching. I commend you and his father for enduring this difficult time of your life. I feel sorry for the boy too, as he has had more than his share of misery from the time he was born until today. It is quite possible that the liver and spleen felt in his abdomen could be normal. About 20% of normal babies have a liver and spleen that can be felt by the doctor. However, a liver or spleen that is felt is not necessarily enlarged. Therefore, your statement that these are enlarged in his case mean that there is true enlargment detected on the ultrasound examination.
I would like to know what, if any other tests, have been done in him in the past month or so. In particular, I would be interested in seeing his full blood count, his liver function tests and his blood smear examination. There are several causes of an enlarged liver and spleen, but these few tests will help a lot in reaching a proper diagnosis.
Of course, there are rarer illnesses, some hereditary, and some acquired, which also cause the same problems, but we would first like to rule out the commoner causes, not the rare ones. I request you to share all his reports done within the past month or two.
Will await your response. You can take pictures of the reports and attach them, or you can scan them on to your laptop and then send them to me through this question.
With best wishes,
Dr. Taher
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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