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Abstract : |
Background. Ischemic colitis is very rare in our country; there are difficulties in diagnosis and surgical treatment, and the late diagnosis in advanced cases causes a high rate of fatalities. Case. A 73-year old woman presented with melena, diffuse abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Laboratory evaluation revealed a WBC of 20,900/mm3, glicaemia of 194mg/dl, without other abnormalities. Plain abdominal radiography and abdominal ultrasound were normal. Emergency exploratory laparotomy revealed a rubbery hard colon, without the normal aspect of haustrations, feeling like a parenchimatous organ, from the left colic angle to the recto-sigmoid jonction. The dissection of the origin of the inferior mezenteric artery proved its complete thrombosis. We performed a left colectomy with terminal colostomy on the transverse colon. Postoperative course was uneventful. Nine months after the first operation, we restored the continuity of the digestive tract by a colo-rectal anastomosis, without any problems. , |
