HỘI CHỨNG DÂY CHẰNG CUNG GIỮA Ở TRẺ EM: BÁO CÁO CA BỆNH

Abstract

Median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) is a rare vascular condition. In MALS, the medial arcuate ligament compresses the celiac artery, leading to chronic abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms. This condition is mainly seen in adults and can be effectively treated with surgical decompression. We report a case in which MALS was diagnosed incidentally through CT imaging. A 12-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital with 6 days of peri-umbilical abdominal pain that was unrelated to meals, without vomiting or weight loss. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) with contrast showed 50-60% stenosis of the proximal celiac artery, suggesting MALS. Because there were no obvious clinical symptoms of MALS, the child was treated for the accompanying acute illness and monitored without surgical decompression. This case shows that median arcuate ligament syndrome can occur in children and is discovered incidentally by abdominal CT image, surgical intervention is not urgent when the patient has no clinical symptoms of compression.