Mesenteric venulitis in a 71-year-old man after acute appendicitis

Abstract

Mesenteric inflammatory veno-occlusive disease (MIVOD) is a clinicopathological entity recently described for a case series of patients with intestinal ischemia of unknown etiology. MIVOD is characterized as a venulitis with lymphocytic, necrotizing, or mixed granulomatous morphology. The disease seems to be self-limiting with resolution of symptoms after surgical resection. We describe a 71-year-old man who developed focal intestinal ischemia in the postoperative period after laparoscopic appendectomy. At re-exploration, a 20-cm segment of grossly ischemic jejunum was identified and resected. The excised specimen demonstrated early ischemic mucosal injury and necrotizing mesenteric venulitis with thrombosis, consistent with verso-occlusive disease. The etiology of this rare vasculitis is currently unknown. We present our case report, which is followed by a review of the literature of MIVOD.