Mesenteric infarction (or acute mesenteric ischemia) is to the intestine what stroke is to the brain and heart attack is to the heart. It is reversible if treated urgently.
A heart attack corresponds to the sudden death of cells (necrosis) due to a lack of oxygen. We speak of mesenteric infarction when this phenomenon affects the cells of the mesentery, the membrane that surrounds the intestine. It results from the formation ofa blood clot (thrombus) in a vein or artery, which prevents blood from circulating normally. He would touch 10,000 people each year in France according to the Learned Society of Diseases and Cancers of the Digestive System (SNFGE).
The 4 signs of a mesenteric infarction
Mesenteric infarction is characterized by several symptoms including:
- a pale complexion,
- abdominal pain which can appear very suddenly and very intensely
- vomitings
- diarrhea.
Surgery is the treatment of choice, the surgeon will remove the necrotic part. It is important to identify the early signs of ischemia because it is reversible, and we can thus stop the progression towards necrosis of the intestine, which is irreversible and potentially fatal.