A surgeon is explaining to the parents of a 6-year-old boy the rationale for the suggestion of removing the boy's spleen. Which of the following teaching points would be most accurate?
A) "We believe that your son's spleen is causing the destruction of many of his blood platelets, putting him at a bleeding risk."
B) "Your son's spleen is inappropriately filtering out the platelets from his blood and keeping them from normal circulation."
C) "Your son's spleen is holding on to too many of his platelets, so they're not available for clotting."
D) "We think that his spleen is inhibiting the production of platelets by his bone marrow."

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A cause of thrombocytopenia is excessive sequestering of platelets by the spleen, necessitating splenectomy. The spleen would not be involved in destroying platelets, filtering them out from existing circulation, or inhibiting their production.

A Surgeon Is Explaining to the Parents of a 6-Year-Old