[Guidelines in vascular surgery: acute mesenteric artery occlusion]

Because of the short ischaemic tolerance time of the intestine in case of acute intestinal ischaemia, diagnostic and therapeutic decisions have to be made under extreme time pressure. Because there are still no reliable and quickly available diagnostic criteria for excluding or confirming acute intestinal ischaemia, careful exploration of anamnestic history and the angiography remain the cornerstones of early diagnosis. Depending on the intraoperative findings and the stage of the disease, therapy consists of resection of the diseased bowel, revascularisation of the occluded vessel or the combination of both methods. Additional conservative therapeutic measures are still in an experimental stage.