 |
|
|
|
VASCULAR SURGERY
Aorto-mesenteric Bypass or Endarterectomy for Chronic Mesenteric Insufficiency
|
The mesenteric arteries are the arteries that supply blood to the large and small intestines. Chronic mesenteric insufficiency occurs when blood cannot flow through arteries as well as it should, and the intestines do not receive the necessary oxygen to perform normally. Mesenteric insufficiency usually involves the small intestines.
Atherosclerosis, which can reduce the amount blood flowing through arteries, is a frequent cause of chronic mesenteric insufficiency. Arteries are normally smooth and unobstructed on the inside, but as people age, a substance called plaque forms in the walls of arteries. Plaque is made of fats and other materials circulating in blood. As more plaque builds up, arteries can narrow and stiffen. Eventually, enough plaque can build up to reduce blood flow, and then cause symptoms.
Mesenteric insufficiency usually occurs when one or more of the major mesenteric arteries narrows or becomes blocked. When this blockage occurs, patients can experience abdominal pain, usually soon after eating. Over time, the patient begins to lose weight and avoid eating because of the pain.
For chronic mesenteric insufficiency, one treatment method is trans-aortic endarterectomy, which is an operation that removes the plaque that blocks the main mesenteric artery. To perform this procedure, a vascular surgeon makes an incision in the patient’s abdomen, or side, and then removes the plaque contained in the inner lining of the blocked mesenteric artery.
Another treatment option for chronic mesenteric insufficiency is bypass surgery. In bypass surgery, the surgeon creates a detour around the narrowed or blocked section of the artery. To create this bypass, the vascular surgeon can use one of the veins in the leg or sometimes a tube from man-made materials. When the surgeon attaches the bypass above and below the blocked area, a new path for blood to flow to the intestines is created and the patients abdominal pain is relieved.
The best choice of the treatment depends upon the location and the extent of the blockage present. We can help determine which method of treatment is best for the patient’s particular situation, by the use of several special x-ray or MRI techniques.
Key Advantages:
- Long-lasting relief of abdominal pain
- Patient can increase their weight back to what is normal for them
- Reduces the risk of an acute occlusion of a mesenteric artery which can threaten the tissues of the bowel
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|