Yes: Be extremely vigilant about infections.
The spleen, sometimes called a “bag of blood,” lies in the upper left-hand side of the abdomen and is an important part of the infection-fighting immune system. Living without one means you have to treat infections quickly, even if they seem minor. If you see a doctor who doesn’t know your history, be sure to tell him or her about your spleen removal (splenectomy) so that he or she can give you antibiotics. You might also wear a Medic-Alert bracelet to let emergency caretakers know you may need antibiotics to prevent a minor infection from becoming a life-threatening one.
The spleen, a kind of giant lymph node, has multiple functions. Immune cells called T cells are produced in the thymus gland, while other immune cells called B cells are made in the bone marrow. Both types of cells then go to the spleen where they become “educated” or specialized for different functions, noted Dr. Jerome E. Groopman, chief of experimental medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. B cells make the antibodies that fight bacteria such as streptococcus and other microbes. The spleen also functions as a kind of filter or trap that contains cells called macrophages that gobble up old, dying blood cells. Without a spleen, the body is less efficient at getting rid of this cellular debris.
Many people, like you, have their spleens removed after a trauma in order to control bleeding that could otherwise be fatal. But the spleen may also become dysfunctional in certain leukemias and lymphomas and sickle cell disease; in such cases, if the spleen swells so large that it causes pain in the abdomen, it is often removed. For people who must have their spleens removed for these reasons, it’s important to get a full series of vaccinations before the surgery to help fight potential infections afterwards.