Patient's question:
My uncle has cirrhosis of the liver. He has been drinking beer outside for many years and often attends banquets. He doesn't take care of himself either. Six months ago, he developed ascites. Now, he is in the hospital taking medication, and the condition has been controlled. However, recently he has noticed that his spleen is enlarged, and he always feels short of breath, as if he can't catch his breath and is having difficulty breathing. What could be the reason?Doctor's answer:
Enlargement of the spleen is usually associated with liver enlargement. Mild splenomegaly is commonly caused by acute infections, hemolytic anemia, congestive heart failure, leukemia, lymphoma, cirrhosis of the liver, and rheumatism. Severe splenomegaly is related to sexually transmitted infections, severe hemolysis, and parasitic infections. Your condition may be due to splenomegaly caused by ascites. Common examination methods include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), B-mode ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, X-ray, CT scan, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic inferior vena cava angiography. There are many treatments for cirrhosis of the liver, but because the symptoms of patients are different, the diagnostic methods used are also different. Therefore, patients need to be examined and diagnosed in a timely manner.