Coeliac artery compression syndrome: the effect of decompression.

The effects of operation to decompress the coeliac artery were evaluated in 11 consecutive patients with coeliac artery compression syndrome. Immediately after the operation all patients were free of symptoms. Three months later three of the 11 had recurrent abdominal pain. Long-term follow-up between 15 and 23 years, obtained by questionnaire, was available for eight patients. All eight had return of symptoms similar to those before surgery. These unsatisfactory results suggest that operation should not be undertaken in patients with vague upper abdominal complaints and compression of the coeliac artery by the median arcuate ligament, who do not otherwise have pathological conditions which might explain their symptoms.