Airplane travel with enlarged spleen?

[K9shepherd]

I am scheduled for a 3 hour flight soon and my spleen is enlarged. My Doctor said he has no issue against me flying. Was just curious if anyone has had any problems with a enlarged spleen and flying?

[albie58]

Hi K9! I never had an issue flying with an enlarged spleen.

[K9shepherd in reply to albie58]

Thank you, im sorry I forgot to mention that my spleen is about double in size. Just having a little anxiety about it. Hearing your response does help. Thank you.

[albie58 in reply to K9shepherd]

Mine was huge! It went from under my ribs down to my belly button. And I had no issues. But treatment did follow shortly. LOL! It's now down to a normal size! Enjoy your trip!

[MisfitK in reply to K9shepherd]

I'm assuming you have treatment lined up to start very soon? Doubled in size spleen would be an indicator that you are in the treatment window...

[K9shepherd in reply to MisfitK]

Im just on w&w, my doctor and I are meeting every 3 months for labs and any new changes or symptoms to decide if treatment is necessary. Im still working full time with no major symptoms causing issues. We agreed on delaying treatment until my quality of life is being effected daily. I Was diagnosed in June 2023 and have had a pet scan, 2 ct scans and 2 fish panel testing done. Just trying to delay until I really need it.

[MisfitK in reply to K9shepherd]

Spleens that get really large can become life-threatening. So, if your spleen is over 20cm, I'd highly recommend a more cautious approach. Treatments have come a long way, and aren't as life-effecting as they used to be.

[BigBrownB in reply to K9shepherd]

I had a 20cm spleen diagnosed at the latter end of last year and I flew to the Canary Islands (4.5hr flight) with no issues. To be fair, the only issues I had with my spleen whilst it was enlarged (I’m now on V & O and it’s gone down…..next scan in April) was exercising and becoming uncomfortable when sitting in a certain position.

Will you be starting treatment soon?

Have a good holiday!

Bridgit

[K9shepherd in reply to BigBrownB]

I really appreciate your response. I will be flying with a better piece of my mind from everyone's replies. We have talked about V&O but not treating yet. Just trying to delay until I really need it. I wish you continued great health. Thanks!

[K9shepherd]

Wow, that was huge. That is great to hear your treatment worked! This greatly helps give me a piece of mind for flying and for future treatment. I really appreciate your response and wish you great health. Thank you.

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

I'm not sure why the concern about flying with splenomegaly (enlarged spleen). Normally our spleen is protected by our rib cage and one of the triggers for starting treatment is when our spleen protrudes more than 6cm below the bottom of our rib cage. It's the risk of damage from impacts, e.g. from contact sport, that can cause our spleen to rupture that we need to protect against.

I was diagnosed at stage 4, because my spleen protruded a couple of centimeters below my rib cage and CLL/SLL bone marrow infiltration was causing severe neutropenia and slight thrombocytopenia. My spleen only slightly enlarged in my 11 years of watch and wait and treatment quickly shrank it back under the protection of my rib cage. In those 11 years of watch and wait, I kept cycling, which my specialists knew about and never mentioned any concerns about this. I also flew twice to Europe from Australia which in total involved about 50 hours in the air. My major concern was avoiding infection - wearing a mask worked well for me in that regard.

Neil

[K9shepherd in reply to AussieNeil]

Thank you for your response. I just didn't know if elevation caused any effect with breathing or any other symptoms because of the enlarged spleen. It is definitely nice to hear nobody has had any issues. I will be wearing a mask. Thanks for reaching back to me.

[biplane in reply to K9shepherd]

Hi K9 I think one of your concerns is the flight altitude, a little off the CLL topic but you are flying in a pressurised tube, the airplane may be at 35000ft but the cabin is pressurised so it's like being at 7 to maybe 9000ft. About the same as a drive up a mountain pass in your car. I've been dealing with this CLL thing for almost 33 years, my spleen was huge and removed in 98, thats what they did back then, if it were today I'd be happy to see it shrink with treatment although I've managed without it. Regards

[K9shepherd in reply to biplane]

Thank you for the response. I appreciate it

[Spark_Plug]

As long as the safety belt is worn below the abdomen, across the hips you should be as safe as in a car.

[Cleggett]

My spleen is 20cm, I've been W&W for 16 years, no treatment. I fly from western Canada to Ireland regularly and have no problem.

[K9shepherd in reply to Cleggett]

Thank you for response!

[scryer99]

Flew a fair bit before treatment start, much of it with a spleen ranging from large to "massive" (10cm below rib cage at largest extent)

Flights were not a particular issue. But the activities surrounding travel - lifting bags to overhead bins, getting on and off buses, a lot of recreational activities - may cause some minor pain and may need to be restricted.

Long-term the spleen issues will need monitoring. More on that in this post: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

While doubling in size might not indicate immediate treatment (mine got up to 4x), it does mean you are getting close and will need to watch out for a few things.

[K9shepherd in reply to scryer99]

I appreciate your response, I am not really having any trouble with daily life yet. Things have changed but you learn to manage and adjust. Me and my Doctor have been meeting every 2 to 3 months about the situation(labs) and will start treatment when my quality of life is being affected every day. Thank you and I wish you great health!