Open surgical decompression of celiac axis compression by division of the median arcuate ligament.

Median arcuate ligament syndrome is a rare cause of abdominal pain which results from compression of the celiac artery (CA) or rarely, the superior mesenteric artery by a ligament formed by the right and left crura of the diaphragm. We report a case of open surgical decompression of the CA by division of the median arcuate ligament for a 37-year-old female patient who had suffered from chronic postprandial epigastric pain and severe weight loss. We described clinical features, characteristic angiographic findings and details of the surgical procedure for the patient with this rare vascular problem.