Gastrointestinal hemorrhage in Turner syndrome. Long-term follow-up with postmortem examination

Abstract

A 57-year-old woman with Turner syndrome had severe recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. Exploratory laparotomy at the age of 26 showed an extensive telanglectasia of the entire small intestine. Following death due to myocardial infraction at age 57, postmortem examination revealed only a 0.2-cm residual telangiectasia in the mucosa of the distal part of the ileum. Spontaneous regression of the intestinal telangiectasia observed in Turner syndrome may occur and account for the improved prognosis with age.