Venous mesenteric infarction: a particular entity.

Ninety-eight patients with documented mesenteric infarction during a 19-year period were reviewed. In 13 patients infarction was due to a mesenteric venous thrombosis (MVT). Patients with MVT distinguished themselves from those having another aetiology by: (1) longer history of pain before admission (median 8 days, P less than 0.0001); (2) typical appearance of the bowel at laparotomy (10/13); (3) a localized segment of ischaemic jejunum or ileum of less than 120 cm in length (12/13) allowing better operability at the first laparotomy (P = 0.006). In hospital the mortality was lower for venous mesenteric infarction (5/13, 38 per cent) than for mesenteric infarction of other aetiologies (70/85, 82 per cent) (P = 0.002). Patients with primary venous mesenteric infarction showed a better survival rate (one death in eight patients) than patients with associated diseases such as liver cirrhosis, sepsis or previous operation who had a poor prognosis with a mortality comparable to other aetiologies of acute bowel ischaemia (four deaths in five patients). Since the high recurrence rate of this disease in the early postoperative period was due to residual venous thrombosis and to a hypercoagulable state, a wide bowel resection is recommended followed by early and long-term anticoagulation. Thrombectomy is probably inefficient since it removes only centrally located thrombi and leaves peripheral occlusion, which is responsible for the recurrence.