Jejunal angiodysplasia confirmed by intravascular injection technique in vitro. Report of a case and review of the literature

Abstract

Angiodysplasia of the small intestine is a rare but important cause of gastrointestinal bleeding. We present a 64-year-old man with repeated melena in whom the diagnosis of multiple angiodysplasia of the jejunum was suggested by angiography. The affected segment of the small intestine, in which reddish patches were detected by intraoperative endoscopy, was removed. The combined technique of injecting a dye and a water-soluble contrast medium into the resected specimen revealed areas of dilated vessels, which were diagnosed histologically as angiodysplasia. This case suggests that angiodysplasia of the small intestine can be recognized clinically before the operation and that the intravascular injection technique is useful in confirming the diagnosis in the resected specimen in vitro. We describe this case in detail and review other cases of small intestinal angiodysplasia reported in the English literature.