Background: New findings on immunological und

haematological functions of the spleen, the postop-erative risks following splenectomy, as well as im-proved surgical techniques resulted in an in-creased interest in organ preservative surgery af-ter traumatic spleen injury in recent years. Mate-rial and Methods: The data of all patients who un-derwent surgery for traumatic spleen injuries be-tween 1995- 2009 were recorded prospectively and an-alysed concerning type of operation, intra-and postop-erative complications and the postoperative course. Results: A total of 214 patients with splenic trauma underwent surgery. The spleen could be preserved in 80 patients (37,4 %, group 1), using thermocoagula-tion, suture, glue sealant, splenorhaphy and partial spleen resection or combined techniques. 4 of those pa-tients (5 %) re-quired a revision operation, in which two spleens co-uld be salvaged by application of glue sealant. Eight of the patients of group 1 could be treated laparoscopically (10 %). Conclusion: Under consideration of the surgical segment anatomy of the spleen and the surgical techniques presented, organ preservation is possible with high success rates, even in patients with se-vere splenic damage. In stable pa-tients with minor splenic injury, laparoscopic or con-servative treatment can be considered. Splenectomy should be reserved for patients with complete shatter-ing of the spleen or ins-table patients. Key-Words: traumatic spleen injury- organ preservation- splenectom