Treatment

You may be diagnosed with sclerosing mesenteritis while you are receiving care for another condition. If you are not experiencing discomfort from sclerosing mesenteritis, you may not require treatment. Instead, your doctor may recommend periodic imaging tests to monitor your condition.

If you begin to experience signs and symptoms of sclerosing mesenteritis, you may choose to begin treatment.

Medications

Medications for sclerosing mesenteritis are intended to control inflammation. Medications may include:

• Corticosteroids. Corticosteroids such as prednisone control inflammation. Corticosteroids can be used alone but are usually combined with other medications. They are not generally used more than three to four months because of side effects.
• Hormone therapy. Hormone treatments such as tamoxifen may slow the growth of scar tissue. Tamoxifen (Soltamox) is typically combined with corticosteroids or other medications and may be used long term. Tamoxifen increases the risk of blood clots and is typically combined with a daily aspirin to reduce this risk. Progesterone (Prometrium) may be used as an alternative to tamoxifen, but it also has significant side effects.
• Other drugs. Several other medications have been used to treat sclerosing mesenteritis, such as azathioprine (Imuran, Azasan), colchicine (Colcrys, Mitigare), cyclophosphamide and thalidomide (Thalomid).

Surgery

If sclerosing mesenteritis advances to block the flow of food through your digestive system, you may need surgery to remove the blockage.