Chronic Ischemic Colitis Associated with Marked Calcifications of the Mesenteric Vessels —Report of Two Cases—

Abstract: Phlebosclerosis of the mesenteric vein is a rare cause of ischemic colitis. The current report includes two patients with segmental ischemic colitis associated with marked calcifications of the mesenteric vessels. No evidence of systemic vasculitis, tuberculosis nor amyloidosis was observed. The patients were previously healthy and had no history of drug use of any kind. Clinical findings included abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant and diarrhea alternating with constipation, and colonic narrowing were discoverd by barium enema. An abdominal X‐ray examination revealed some patchy calcifications in the right and left upper quadrants. An angiography of the superior mesenteric artery revealed sclerosis of the artery, disturbance of colonic blood flow, and calcifications of the mesenteric vessels. The patients were treated with an anticoagulant. In follow‐up studies, barium enema and colonoscopy revealed a gradual progression of the disease over the last five years. Treatment with an anticoagulant may have prevented rapid advancement of the disease and thereby eliminated the need for emergency operations. These unusual venous lesions have been rarely reported, and their etiology and pathogenesis remain unknown.