SSMC team helps a patient overcome food fear due to narrowed arteries in her gut

SSMC team helps a patient overcome food fear due to narrowed arteries in her gut

- A multidisciplinary team approach to treatment led to quick recovery

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC), one of the UAE’s largest hospitals and a joint-venture partnership between Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) and Mayo Clinic, recently performed successful surgery on an Emirati woman, who was suffering from mesenteric angina.

Mesenteric angina occurs when blocked or narrowed arteries restrict blood flow to the small intestines, causing severe abdominal pain, nausea and fever. This condition made the patient suffer from severe pain within a few minutes of eating. Due to the intense pain, she developed something called “food fear”, which occurs when patients want to avoid food because they anticipate pain after eating. As soon as patients smell food, their guts get ready to eat, but because they do not have enough blood supply to the gut, they experience acute pain. The condition usually leads to unintentional weight loss. However, in this patient’s case, the reduction was significant.

Dr. Mohamed Baguneid, consultant and chair of the Vascular Surgery Division at SSMC, conducted the procedure together with his radiology colleagues, Dr. Shahbazali Patil and Dr. Ravi Gadahadh. He said, “Mesenteric angina is like angina but for the gut, and in