Mesenteric venous thrombosis as sole complication of decompression sickness.
A 27-year-old male commercial diver developed massive mesenteric venous thrombosis following a dive. Symptoms at presentation included abdominal pain and diarrhea. A severe upper gastrointestinal bleed developed. Exploratory laparotomy demonstrated 130 cm of infarcted small bowel. The pathophysiologic events in decompression sickness predispose to vascular obstruction and venous infarction. This patient had a past history of possible thrombophlebitis and pulmonary embolism associated with diving but no identifiable coagulopathy.
D000328:Adult; D003665:Decompression Sickness / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008641:Mesenteric Vascular Occlusion / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008642:Mesenteric Veins / Q000473:pathology; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology*