Hi, In June this year my spleen got badly ruptered and I had to undergo emergency surgery to have it removed. I now have a huge scar down the centre of my stomach and have to take penicillen for life. I am 26 years old. I was just wondering will I now have any complications getting pregnant and also how will this effect my scar? What is the recommended time I have to wait following surgery to try for a baby? I ask this as I may be healed on the outside but it obviously takes much longer for the scar tissue and muscle to heal inside.Hope you will kindly answer my questions.Thanks.Jodie
Hallow Dear, Absence of spleen per se should not affect the course of pregnancy neither should it cause any problem in becoming pregnant. However, after the surgery, if you have developed lots of adhesions inside the abdominal cavity, it may cause problem in the tubes which will affect the transport of the egg to the uterus. Then, it may lead to infertility. This can be assessed by Hysterosalpingography/Laparoscopy. The scar on the abdomen should not cause any problem in the progress of pregnancy and delivery, provided the abdominal muscles have been well approximated, and the scar has healed good in its full thickness. Your scar is on the abdominal wall and not on the uterus. So it should not create any problem in the progress of pregnancy nor labor. You may go for pregnancy anytime after 6 months of the surgery. However, since it was an emergency surgery, you should get your blood examined for its normal values. Usually splenic rupture leads to a lot of bleeding. Please see that you have regained all your blood parameters to normalcy before you become pregnant. You should get your health checked up from an Obstetrician and get green signal for becoming pregnant. As it is, pregnancy is a condition which dilutes the blood. Pregnancy is an additional burden the body. Meanwhile, right from today, start consuming high protein diet with lots of minerals and micronutrients with special attention to iron and Folic acid. This will help improve your general health which is absolute requirement of pregnancy and motherhood. If you are tolerating Penicillin, it should sot create any issue during pregnancy, labor or breastfeeding. I hope this helps you today. 