Idiopathic mesenteric venous thrombosis: report of a case

Idiopathic mesenteric venous thrombosis is a rare entity. An early diagnosis and thrombolytic and anticoagulant therapy are very important.

We report a case of a patient, without any specific known risk factor, with small intestinal ischemia secondary to superior mesenteric vein thrombosis (SMVT).

In our case, only a computed tomography (CT) abdominal scan permitted the diagnosis of SMVT. The patient was successfully treated by resection of the infarcted bowel with primary anastomosis and immediate postoperative anticoagulation.

Diagnosis of intestinal ischemia from mesenteric venous thrombosis (MVT) is often delayed because the symptoms are nonspecific. Moreover, when there is not any known predisposing factor, the diagnosis may become even more difficult with significant morbidity and mortality. CT abdominal scan done early in case of nonspecific abdominal pain, since the patients had a previous history of venous thrombosis, may not require a surgical treatment of MVT.