Digestive Problems
Diseases: Small Bowel: Intestinal Lymphangiectasia
Intestinal lymphangiectasia affects children and young adults. It is an abnormality of lymphatic channels (the tubular system of channels that transports fats from the intestine to the liver and other organs). When the lymphatic channels become blocked they become very dilated and rupture and discharge their contents into the bowel.
Intestinal lymphangiectasia can be congenital or acquired. The acquired forms are usually due to some form of infiltrative or mechanical process such as amyloidosis or malignancy. Patients will present with edema (swelling) and mild diarrhea or steatorrhea. Blood tests indicate a significant protein loss. The diagnosis is confirmed by taking a biopsy from the lining of the small bowel, which shows typical gross dilatation of the lymphatic vessels. Patients are treated with a low fat diet; normal fat is replaced with medium chain triglycerides.