Abstract

Arteriovenous malformation is a rare cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding in patients younger than 50 years of age and is characterized by recurrent, painless, massive bleeding and chronic anemia without a remarkable prior or family history. The most commonly sites involved are the ascending colon and small bowel. This condition rarely involves the stomach and descending colon. Until recently, there has been only one case report on arteriovenous malformation of the descending colon in Korea. We report a case of a 32 year old male patient who presented with massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding and had been diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation of the descending colon after undergoing colonoscopy and abdomen CT with contrast enhancement. The patient underwent left hemicolectomy because of persistent bleeding despite conservative management. (Korean J Gastrointest Endosc 2007; 35:351-354)

• Keywords: Arteriovenous malformation, Descending colon