eMedicine Specialties > General Surgery > Abdomen

Mesenteric Artery Thrombosis: Follow-up

Author: Deron J Tessier, MD, Staff Surgeon, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Fontana, CA
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jul 10, 2009

Outcome and Prognosis

Unfortunately, the outcome of patients suffering from acute thrombosis is not as good as that of patients with chronic ischemia. The average mortality rate of patients with acute thrombosis is 75-80%.7

For those patients who do survive, the risk of rethrombosis is high, and lifestyle may be hindered by a lifetime of total parenteral nutrition.

Future and Controversies

The diagnosis and treatment of acute mesenteric thrombosis have improved little since the late 20th century.

A retrospective study by Mamode et al found that 32% of patients were properly diagnosed prior to surgery or death.8 In this same review, 46 of 57 patients died from mesenteric ischemia.

Progress in the diagnosis of mesenteric thrombosis includes some advances in CT scanning and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). While these modalities show promise, they are not the diagnostic tests of choice in suspected mesenteric thrombosis. In his study, Alpern et al found that 26% of patients were appropriately diagnosed as having ischemia by CT scan9 ; other studies have shown similar results.

Treatment options of acute thrombosis center on surgical methods, which have changed little since the late 20th century. Some patients may be good candidates for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with stenting, as was the patient reported by Bertran and colleagues.10

 
Acknowledgments

The authors and editors of eMedicine gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous coauthors Yale D Podnos, MD, MPH, and Russell A Williams, MBBS, to the development and writing of this article.



More on Mesenteric Artery Thrombosis

Overview: Mesenteric Artery Thrombosis
Treatment: Mesenteric Artery Thrombosis
Follow-up: Mesenteric Artery Thrombosis
Multimedia: Mesenteric Artery Thrombosis
References
Further Reading
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References

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Keywords

mesenteric artery thrombosis, thrombosis, thrombus, mesenteric artery ischemia, ischemia, mesenteric, mesenteric artery, mesentery, mesenteric ischemia, ischemic bowel, ischemic colitis, superior mesenteric artery, superior artery, mesenteric thrombosis, inferior mesenteric artery, superior mesenteric vein, thromboendarterectomy, transaortic visceral thromboendarterectomy, aortovisceral bypass, postprandial pain, hypovolemia, intra-abdominal malignancy, autogenous saphenous vein graft

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Deron J Tessier, MD, Staff Surgeon, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Fontana, CA
Deron J Tessier, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Surgeons and American Medical Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Burt Cagir, MD, FACS, Assistant Professor of Surgery, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center; Consulting Staff, Director of Surgical Research, Robert Packer Hospital; Associate Program Director, Department of Surgery, Guthrie Clinic
Burt Cagir, MD, FACS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, and Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Managing Editor

Michael A Grosso, MD, Consulting Staff, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, St Francis Hospital
Michael A Grosso, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Surgeons, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and Society of University Surgeons
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Paolo Zamboni, MD, Professor of Surgery, Chief of Day Surgery Unit, Chair of Vascular Diseases Center, University of Ferrara, Italy
Paolo Zamboni, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Venous Forum and New York Academy of Sciences
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

John Geibel, MD, DSc, MA, Vice Chairman, Professor, Department of Surgery, Section of Gastrointestinal Medicine and Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine; Director of Surgical Research, Department of Surgery, Yale-New Haven Hospital
John Geibel, MD, DSc, MA is a member of the following medical societies: American Gastroenterological Association, American Physiological Society, American Society of Nephrology, Association for Academic Surgery, International Society of Nephrology, New York Academy of Sciences, and Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract
Disclosure: AMGEN Royalty Other

 
 
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