Table 1

Mortality from overwhelming postsplenectomy infection after total and partial splenectomy

Type of surgery	No. of patients	Thalassemia		Deaths	Follow-up, yr	Average age, yr
Type of surgery	No. of patients	Major	Intermedia	Deaths	Follow-up, yr	Average age, yr
Iraq^*
Total splenectomy	30	25	5	5	4	14.5
Partial splenectomy	12	10	2	NA	4	16.0
Saudi Arabia^†
Total splenectomy	22	19	3	1	12	17.0