Acute Superior Mesenteric Artery Embolism With Infective Endocarditis: Is There a Role for Endovascular Treatment?
Xiaoxiang Zhou, Jiao Teng, Zhenjiang Li et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
A patient with infective endocarditis presented with abdominal pain, and contrast-enhanced abdominal CT showed acute superior mesenteric artery embolism. Urgent percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy and stenting restored arterial flow to the intestine. A pseudoaneurysm developed adjacent to the stent 17 days later and was removed surgically. The patient had a good prognosis at 1-year follow-up.
What made this case unusual
The endovascular procedure restored intestinal blood supply, but a pseudoaneurysm formed beside the stent 17 days later and required open surgical removal.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
In acute mesenteric artery embolism associated with infective endocarditis, endovascular revascularization may restore intestinal blood flow, but subsequent pseudoaneurysm formation warrants attention.