[From starving to life-threatening nutrition--the history of an intestinal pseudoobstruction]

It is the story of a 70-year-old lady, who suffered from chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction since her adolescence. In the early 90ies progressive cachexia developed. In 1994 parenteral nutrition was begun via a port-à-cath-system with good success in the first years. Later, various complications occurred: thrombotic events, several catheter-related infections with various bacterial strains, an endocarditis of the aortic valve, which was replaced by a bioprosthesis, and finally a relapsing endocarditis of this artificial valve with a life-threatening paravalvular abscess and regurgitation. She also survived this second heart surgery and is currently under parenteral nutrition again, with a more than uncertain future.