Rectal Dieulafoy's lesion: report of a case and review of the literature.

Abstract

Dieulafoy's lesion is an uncommon cause of gastrointestinal bleeding that occurs after rupture of an exposed submucosal artery. The vast majority of lesions are found in the stomach, but cases have been described in the esophagus, small intestine, colon, and rectum. We describe an elderly patient who presented with severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding caused by a rectal Dieulafoy's lesion. This is the first report of a rectal Dieulafoy's lesion treated successfully with endoscopic epinephrine injection followed by thermocoagulation. We review the physiopathology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease.