Intestinal necrosis in a patient with Behçet's disease and infective endocarditis: a case report

Vascular Behçet's disease (BD) complicated by infective endocarditis (IE) presents extreme challenges during cardiac surgery and postoperative care. We report a fatal case in which a patient with vascular BD, after complex cardiac surgery for IE, developed extensive mesenteric arteriovenous thrombosis while on intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. This rapidly progressed to intestinal necrosis and perforation. This case highlights the heightened, and likely underrecognized, risk of catastrophic mesenteric thrombosis when mechanical circulatory support is employed in patients with vascular BD.