Mesenteric venous thrombosis

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Blood thinners are used to treat mesenteric venous thrombosis. Heparin is the most commonly used drug. In some cases, medicine to dissolve the clot can be delivered directly into the clot itself. This procedure is called thrombolysis.

If the patient has signs and symptoms of peritonitis, surgery is usually needed to remove intestine. At times, an ileostomy or colostomy may be necessary.

How well a person does depends on the cause of the thrombosis. Getting treatment for the underlying cause before the intestine has died can result in a good recovery.

A serious complication of mesenteric venous thrombosis is intestinal ischemia, in which some or all of the intestine dies because of poor blood supply.

Call your health care provider if you have severe or repeated episodes of abdominal pain.

Review Date: 07/14/2006
Reviewed By: J.A. Lee, M.D., Division of Surgery, UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.