Identification of minute arteriovenous malformation of the small intestine using intraoperative endoscopy-a report of two cases-

Abstract

We have experienced two cases of minute arteriovenous malformation (AVM) of the small intestine. Case 1 involved a 77–year–old woman suffering from intermittent intestinal bleeding, and case 2 involved a 90–year–old woman with a 3–day history of melena. In both cases, diagnosis by preoperative angiography was unsuccessful because of the size of the AVM lesions and the small amount of bleeding flow, though blood pool scintigraphy could show hot spots. Intraoperative endoscopy was useful to find the bleeding point of such minute AVM lesions as we could hardly detect without histopathological examination.