Abu Dhabi: Woman battling ‘fear of food’ rescued in high-risk surgery – News

“The patient’s artery was probably one of the most clogged arteries I’ve ever seen,” said the doctor

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An Emirati woman who has been refusing to eat due to her “fear of food” has finally found a cure, thanks to a team of multidisciplinary doctors in Abu Dhabi.

The patient refused to eat because of severe pain within minutes of eating.

It turned out she had mesenteric angina, which occurs when arteries become blocked or narrowed, restricting blood flow to the small intestine, causing severe abdominal pain, nausea and fever.

She then developed a phenomenon called “food phobia,” which occurs when patients want to avoid eating because they anticipate pain after eating.

As soon as patients smell food, their intestines get ready to eat, but because their intestines don’t have enough blood supply, they experience severe pain. This condition often leads to unexpected weight loss.

However, the patient lost significant weight, prompting her to consult specialists at Sheikh Shahput Medical City (SSMC).

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“Mesenteric angina is like angina, but it’s for the gut, and in this patient’s case, it was critical. Within a week, she’d come with dead gut. Unfortunately, many people suffer from the same diseases, but they are diagnosed late because it is difficult to identify what is causing the pain in the first place, so they are malnourished,” said Dr Mohamed Baguneid, consultant and chairman of Vascular Surgery.

“Many people seek treatment at a later stage and develop intestinal gangrene (death of body tissue due to lack of blood flow) because they don’t get the right treatment early. Intestinal gangrene is associated with a high mortality rate of 50 percent.”

A multidisciplinary team of dietitians, anesthesiologists, vascular surgeons, and vascular interventional radiologists was involved in the treatment. Before the surgery, specialized scans and ultrasounds were done to visualize the intestinal arteries, a complex process.

Dr. Baguneid performed the procedure in SSMC’s state-of-the-art hybrid operating room with vascular interventional radiologists. In the high-risk procedure, which took about three hours, they deployed a stent through an artery in her arm and into one of the patient’s intestinal arteries.

“This patient had probably one of the most calcified or blocked arteries I have ever seen. Thanks to the sterile environment of our state-of-the-art hybrid theater suite, we performed both open surgery and stenting, which is the best in the region.” There are not many facilities. The only wound the patient suffered during the operation was on the elbow. The patient is doing well and is recovering.”

The patient was discharged from the hospital about two days after the procedure. A dietitian is now helping her overcome her food fears and assisting her in managing her diet after surgery.