Anaesthetic implications of laparoscopic splenectomy in patients with sickle cell anaemia.

With the increasing immigrant population in the Republic of Ireland, the number of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) seen in the paediatric hospitals is climbing. In this case report, we review the anaesthetic implications and outcome of the first two paediatric patients with SCD to have a laparoscopic splenectomy due to repeated splenic infarcts in the Republic of Ireland.