My son has spherecytosis - he has recently found through CT to have an enlarged spleen and liver and his bilirubin is climbing - he appears well and sometimes has pain in the left side of his abdo where is spleen is. Unsure what is going on, we are due to have more bloods and another uss on Monday but just a little confused as to what could be happening
Hi bsw1972,This is a condition called hereditary phagocytosis which occurs due to membrane defect in red blood cells due to which it is easily destroyed while passing through the blood vessels particularly in spleen. In addition to the test results you have mentioned osmotic fragility test helps in confirming the diagnosis. Raising bilirubin level may be due to increased destruction of red cells or due pigment stones formed in the biliary tract. Usually spleen has to be removed surgically to increase the lifespan of red blood cells and if there is any gall stones that also needs to removed during surgery. With regards, Chat Doctor. 