Asymptomatic Superior Mesenteric Arterial Stenosis: Primum non nocere

Abstract

In this era of modern imaging the issue of how to handle asymptomatic lesions is a common discussion at hospital rounds worldwide. When I was a young surgical trainee in the 1970s, the most common abdominal surgical procedure was diagnostic laparotomy, imagine! Fortunately, that was a long time ago, but the present situation, in which we are exposed to multiple asymptomatic lesions, creates a new challenge.