[Acute occlusions of the intestinal arteries--diagnosis and surgical therapy]

Acute obstruction of arterial blood flow in digestive organs has been recorded from two per cent of all patients with acute abdominal disorders and has accounted for roughly eight per cent of all sudden vascular occlusions. Symptoms are generally occult and are quite often misinterpreted. This together with short warm ischaemia tolerance of the intestinal tract, somewhat between two and three hours, has continued to cause death of nearly 90 per cent of such patients. Bilateral retrospective studies were conducted into 66 patients with acute intestinal arterial occlusions over ten years and have confirmed the importance of early diagnosis and immediate surgical action. Particular emphasis should be laid, in that context, on adequate clinical diagnosis and reconstructive arterial surgery along with removal of avital intestinal sections. High mortality among the patients concerned can be substantially reduced by no-delay, thorough medical action.