2024 Volume 44 Issue 5 Pages 717-721
We describe the case of a 62-year-old woman who presented with a history of multiple episodes of bloody stools over the previous 5 years. Upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy had failed to identify the bleeding source. She was admitted to a local hospital after abdominal computed tomography showed a small intestinal tumor as the possible source of bleeding. On the night of admission, as her hemodynamic status deteriorated, she was transferred to our hospital for further management. Emergency laparotomy revealed a 7-cm mass on the contralateral aspect of the mesentery of the jejunum, and we performed partial resection of the small intestine. Postoperative histopathological examination revealed the diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). In this case, although the source of bleeding was a small-sized intestinal tumor, the patient developed hemorrhagic shock while waiting for surgery. Prompt resection is the most appropriate treatment when a small intestinal tumor (GIST in this case) is identified as the source of intestinal bleeding.
