Unusual manifestation of an ampullary tumor presenting with severe upper gastrointestinal bleeding

Abstract

Ampullary tumors can occasionally ulcerate and present as frank gastrointestinal bleeding. The most common clinical presentation is jaundice like in other tumors of the biliary tree. We report on a 68-year-old man who presented with severe upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage secondary to an asymptomatic mass of the ampulla of Vater. An endoscopic biopsy specimen revealed a villous adenoma with moderate dysplasia. A curative resection was performed, and pathological work-up revealed the presence of an infiltrating, moderately differentiated ampullary adenocarcinoma.