The trip to ER revealed mesenteric panniculitis. Uh, say what?

Mesenteric panniculitis is a rare disease that affects the part of the mesentery that contains fat cells.

Say what?

From there it gets messy. What is this odd disease that none of the doctors we met had ever had a patient that had it?

Basically, inflammation of the fatty part of the tissue that covers the lower abdominal region.

The specific cause of mesenteric panniculitis isn’t known, but may be related to autoimmune disease, abdominal surgery, injury to your abdomen, bacterial infection, or vascular problems. It causes chronic inflammation that damages and destroys fatty tissue in the mesentery. Over time, this can lead to scarring on the mesentery.

My research showed that almost everyone who comes down with mesenteric panniculitis also has or will have cancer of some form.

Not good.

In fact, cancer is so prevalent with mesenteric panniculitis that many in the medical community consider it a form of paraneoplastic syndrome.

Not good.

Not the problem.