Acute Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis.. in Assiut University Hospital Management Controversies

Mesenteric venous thrombosis (MVT) is increasingly recognized as a cause of mesenteric ischemia. it must be distinguished from arterial and non occlusive types of ischemia, it accounts for 5% to 15% of all cases of mesenteric ischemia. Patients may have evocative signs,such as abdominal pain that is out of proportion to physical signs, nausea, or vomiting. However, a clinical diagnosis is often difficult because abdominal symptoms are non specific and high index of suspicion is often required for diagnosis.(1) Primary MVT accounted for 25% to 55% of cases in early studies, but recent reports show decline in primary MVT because of improvements in the diagnosis of hypercoagulable states.(2) Advances in new imaging techniques also have enabled early recognition of this disease without or before laparotomy.(3-5 ) Fortunately , there is no consensus about the initial management of MVT; Some authors have proposed an aggressive surgical approach (6) while others have advocated an initial conservative management with anticoagulation and close monitoring . ( 7) similarly,issue of second look laparotomy,mandatory or selective is yet not resolved.

The present study is prompted to analyze our experience in an effort to resolve these controversies and the results obtained will be assessed to determine the best management strategy for this uncommon disease.