An 80-year-old woman from Northolt has undergone life-saving surgery after spending more than a year unable to eat without excruciating pain.
Kay Reynolds had her last proper meal on Christmas Day in 2023. From then on, even small amounts of food triggered severe stomach pain.
Her daughter, Jacqueline said: “Mum was slowly wasting away in front of us and the hospital kept saying they couldn’t find anything wrong,” said her daughter, Jacqueline.
It wasn’t until a scan months later that doctors diagnosed Reynolds with Chronic Mesenteric Ischemia, a rare condition affecting roughly one in a thousand people. The disease had caused two of the arteries supplying blood to her intestine to become blocked. By that point, her weight had plummeted from 182 pounds to under 100.
Selva Theivacumar, lead consultant in vascular and endovascular surgery at Northwick Park Hospital, explained: “Kay was referred with possible Chronic Mesenteric Ischaemia after previous tests had ruled out cancer and other serious bowel conditions. It was clear… the blood flow to her bowel was so low it didn’t have enough oxygen to function.”
Despite the high-risk nature of the procedure due to Reynolds’ age and frailty, Theivacumar decided to proceed. “She told me she wasn’t ready to give up on life and she kept her word.”
The three-hour endovascular operation, using minimally invasive techniques to restore blood flow, brought immediate relief
Jacqueline added: “Mum was white as a sheet when she went in but looked ten years younger after. She had a meal later that day.”
Reynolds began eating pureed food — including Skips and Wotsits, which “melted in her mouth,” according to her daughter — and has kept her appetite ever since.
Mr Theivacumar stressed that Chronic Mesenteric Ischemia is significantly underdiagnosed and called for better awareness of bowel ischemia among healthcare professionals.
