Retractile Mesenteritis

OUR interest in retractile mesenteritis was first aroused when one of us (C.G.T.) was consulted on an exploratory laparotomy for a suspected tumor in the large bowel. The tumor was not found, and the only significant alteration was that of a large area of thickening and sclerosis at the root of the mesentery.A few months later we were faced with an almost identical situation. At an exploratory laparotomy for small-bowel obstruction, the suspected condition could not be detected, and both mesentery and mesosigmoid displayed areas of increased thickness, fibrosis and scarring. The pathological diagnosis in both these cases was . . .