Vascular Insufficiency of the Colon as a Complication of Abdominal Aortic Surgery

Abstract

Vascular insufficiency of the descending colon, as a complication of abdominal aortic reconstructive surgery, occurs with sufficient frequency that its radiological findings should be appreciated. The incidence of colon infarction following abdominal aortic resection varies between 1 and 10 per cent (Bernatz, 1960; Smith and Szilagyi, 1960). Since cases of this particular entity were difficult to find in the radiological literature, it was decided to report the following case. F.M., No. 142098, is a 60-year-old white male carpenter who entered Colorado General Hospital in September of 1962 with the chief complaint of progressive decrease in the calibre of his stools. In August of 1961 the patient was diagnosed as having porphyria hepatica. An abdominal aneurysm was also discovered at this time. A barium enema, done because of symptoms not too unlike those which necessitated his most recent admission, was interpreted as within normal limits (Fig. 1). A graft replacement of the aneurysm was contemplated, bu...