High WBC in preparation for Surgery

[MeMe2005]

I am scheduled for surgery on the 15th and my surgeon called to say that I had a high WBC and that I might have to postpone my sugery.  I redid my labwork and sent it to him.  

My first labwork was CBC without differential and the one that I retook was with differential.  These were the results:

WBC 15 HI
RBC 4.36
Hemoglobin 12.9
Hematocrit 38.8
MCV 88.9
MCH 29.6
MCHC 33.2
RDW 14.2
Platelet CT 322
MPV 7.6
SEG(MAN) 70
LYMPH (MAN) 27
MONO (MAN) 3
PLT COMMENT: PLATELETS APPEAR ADEQUATE ON SMEAR

I know I have to wait until the surgeon calls me back to let me know the satus, but I just wanted to inquire if the SEG, LYMPH and MONO are looked at in correlation with the WBC since he did not have these results in the first bloodwork that I had.  I guess I am just hoping that he says that I am fine and that I could go ahead with the surgery.

Thank you in advance for any information you could give me.

[MeMe2005]

I am having gastric bypass surgery.  I actually saw a doctor in the Hematology and Oncology Department on Wednesday.  He looked over my file and saw that I had a high WBC back in 2002.  He said that it was normal for me to have a high WBC (NJC-R.N.-DC was right).  I sent over the information to the surgeon and I now have a new date for my surgery.  I am so looking forward to this (it was heartbreaking to have been postponed only 5 days before my last surgery date, but it is better to be safe than sorry).  Thank you for your inquiry.

[bactitech]

Just curious - what type of surgery are you having? Looking over your CBC, everything looks pretty normal except for the high white count.

Could the reason for the surgery be the cause of the high WBC?

I have been a medical technologist for 30 years, so inquiring minds want to know :-).

[National Jewish]

Your white blood cell (WBC) count is slightly to moderately high.  A high WBC count in this range is usually not caused by disease.  This could be due to acute stress that can be experienced before surgery.  The differential counts the number of cells for each type of WBC such as the segmented neutrophils (SEG), lymphocytes (LYMPH), and monocytes (MOMO).  Your differential appears to be normal.  This suggests that the WBC count of 15,000 is not a sign of infection.  Medicine, not disease, is the most common cause of a high WBC count in this range.  Corticosteroids can cause the WBC count to be this high or higher.  With corticosteroids the neutrophils tend to be high so it is called neutrophilia.

I suggest you discuss this with your doctor to determine if there is some other cause.  Some people just "normally" have a WBC count in this range.  Often other people in their family will also have a WBC count in this range.