Wilkie's Syndrome as a Cause of Intestinal Obstruction and Chronic Abdominal Pain: A Case Report

Wilkie's syndrome (WS), or superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome, is an extremely rare condition, with only a small number of cases reported. It is characterized by a picture of high intestinal obstruction, due to the compression of the third portion of the duodenum, as a consequence of a narrowing of the aortomesenteric angle (approximately <25°). We report the case of a woman in her fifth decade of life, who reports chronic abdominal pain and comes to the emergency department presenting with a picture of intestinal occlusion. During her management, an abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan is performed, with evidence of a decrease in the aortomesenteric angle and the aortomesenteric distance, with dilation of the first two duodenal and gastric portions. She underwent exploratory laparotomy, where a duodenojejunostomy was performed.