Abstract
An uncommon case of diffuse infiltrative cavernous hemangioma of the stomach diagnosed by gastroscopy and upper gastrointestinal series is presented. The patient was an 18-year-old woman, her complaints being nausea and vomiting followed by massive hematemesis. She had hematemesis at the ages of 8 and 15. Gastroscopy revealed marked thickening and tortousity of mucosal folds which were bluish in color in the greater curvature of the gastric body, together with retention of large amounts of blood in the stomach. Upper gastrointestinal series again disclosed many thick and tortous mucosal folds in the gastric body, reminding us of Menetrier's disease or malignant lymphoma. Abdominal angiogram revealed a thickened wall of the gastric body, but there was neither evidence of aneurysm nor abnormal tumor stain. The gastric body was partially resected together with the greater omentum. At surgery there were many tortous and dilated blood vessels in the serosal surface of the stomach and omentum. Microscopically, there were many dilated blood vessels filled with blood and lined by a single layer of endothelial cells, occupying the whole thickness of the gastric wall with the main location of the submucosa. No return of bleeding occured during the 20 months followed up.
