Embolization of the mesenteric arteries: surgical treatment in twenty-three consecutive cases

Twenty-three patients with acute embolization of the superior mesenteric artery are presented. Twenty-one of them presented with sudden abdominal pain but no other remarkable physical findings. One had diffuse abdominal pain while one did not have any abdominal pain. Twenty-two patients underwent direct surgical revascularization and one patient refused operation. The total mortality in this series was 27%. Eighteen patients underwent revascularization without resection and 15 of them (83%) survived. Early diagnosis is the key to improved results in acute mesenteric ischemia. It relies on the aggressive utilization of arteriography to identify patients with superior mesenteric artery embolization before intestinal infarction takes place.