Two Cases of Angiodysplasia in Small Bowel : Intra - operative Endoscopic Transillumination Technique

Lee, Jong Seo; Cha, Chang Ryeol; Cho, Won Il; Moon, In Sung; Choo, Sang Yong; Chung, In Sik; Lee, Kyo Young

Abstract

Angiodysplasia of small bowel is uncommon and frequently undiagnosed and presents a taxing surgical problem. It is usually diagnosed for unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding. For the surgeon, the main technical problem is that the lesion is impalpable, and invisible to the naked eye, so it usually cannot be identified unless bleeds actively at the time of surgery. Arteriography gives a little information about wax and wane pattern of bleeding in the lesion. Endoscopy is often unfruitful because the majority of lesions are submucosal and rarely exceed a few millimeters in diameter. Transillumination of the intestinal wall from inside of the lumen to the outside in a dark room can define the precise vascular anatomy of the wall. The delicate lesion of the angiodysplasia can be identified by this transillumination method. We described a simple intraoperstive endoscopic translllumination technique used successfully to identify an angiodysplasia in the small bovwel prior to the bowel resecion. This report summarized our experience and review of literature.