Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome Due to an Aortic Aneurysm in a Renal Transplant Recipient

ABSTRACT

Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome is a rare disease in which the third portion of the duodenum is compressed by SMA. There are many causes leading to the SMA syndrome, however it's extremely rare that aortic aneurysm causes a SMA syndrome. We report a case of a successfully treated SMA syndrome due to an abdominal aortic aneurysm in a renal transplant recipient. The patient was a 52-yr-old woman with a thin stature (weight 40 kg, height 164 cm). She received a renal transplant 8 yr before, and had hypertension and abdominal aortic aneurysm. Her SMA syndrome developed in a prolonged supine position for the accidental rib fractures and was diagnosed by clinical and radiological findings. After a surgical correction (resection of an aneurysm and aortobiiliac bypass with an inverted Y graft), her symptoms relieved without deterioration of the graft function.