My sister had a ct scan and her report says she has "worsening mesenteric lympathadenopathy which is likely related to a chronic inflammatory, infectious or potentially neoplastic etiology". We have looked it up online but cannot really find the defination or really understand just what she is dealing with. Her doc will be back tomorrow from vacation but I need to know what this is. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
This was the best I could do for you until Marsh comes along. He is a physician- he should be able to provide a better explanation.
Mesentery -Anatomy. the membrane, consisting of a double layer of peritoneum, that invests the intestines, attaching them to the posterior wall of the abdomen, maintaining them in position in the abdominal cavity, and supplying them with blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatics, esp. the part of this membrane investing the jejunum and ileum.
Kathryn wrote: "worsening mesenteric lympathadenopathy which is likely related to a chronic inflammatory, infectious or potentially neoplastic etiology".
Mesenteric refers to the membrane covering the intestines. Lymphadenopathy is an enlargement of the lymph nodes. Thus she has enlargement of the lymph nodes in her abdomen. The cause can be inflammation or infection, a condition called sarcoid (cause unknown), or various types of malignancy such as Hodgkins Disease or Lymphoma. All of these, including the malignancies, can respond to treatment. The doctor needs to do further studies to determine the cause. You need to talk with him. I wondered about the term "worsening". Does that mean he has noticed it before?
Thank you so much Marsh. I knew you would come through. She is questioning the same thing. Her last CT scan was done at a completely different facility. No one mentioned this to her before. She is having great pain however. She had the prev ct scan because she suspected a hernia-which it was. Had surgery-everything was ok. Thought the hernia may have reappeared but the surgeon stated no way. This scan supports that but raises this new condition and she does not understand "worsening". So glad she will see him tomorrow to get to the bottom of this. One other thing, she had a full blood workup (17 vials) a few weeks ago and all was well. The pain has been around for most of the last month. If it were an infection, wouldn't her white count be affected? I am so happy for this website. We are so relieved when we are always worrying about what the worse thing it could be. Good to know they can respond to treatment. Thanks again. I saw in another discussion that you were going to be away for a few days. Will update this sight when I get more details. Enjoy your vacation!