A case of hemorrhage from vascular ectasia of the small intestine treated by balloon assisted endoscopy

Abstract

The development of new technique against the gastrointestinal tract has revealed that various hemorrhagic lesions exist in the small intestine. Single- or double balloon endoscopy (balloon assisted endoscopy) is essential for the treatment of the lesions as well as making a diagnosis. Here we report on a case of hemorrhagic vascular ectasia successfully treated by single-balloon endoscopy.
A 85-year-old female with history of chronic heart failure was admitted to our hospital due to severe anemia. Although the upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy did not show any lesion causing bleeding, the sintigraphy implicated hemorrhage from the small intestine. Consequently, we performed single-balloon endoscopy which demonstrate hemorrhagic vascular ectasia. Hemostasis was immediately achieved using argon-plasma coagulation, and anemia had not been found after the treatment.