Abstract

The term "vascular ectasia" is defined to include angiodysplasia, gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) and telangiectasis, and these are the leading causes of acute or chronic gastrointestinal bleeding. We describe here the first 2 Korean cases of GAVE with rectal vascular ectasia in patients with liver cirrhosis. A 70-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with hematochezia. The finding on endoscopy showed diffuse nonconfluent spots with oozing bleeding on the antrum and several vascular spots with oozing bleeding on the rectum. The lesions were successfully treated by argon plasma coagulation (APC). We report on another case of rectal vascular ectasia in a patient with liver cirrhosis. A 77-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with hematochezia. The findings on colonoscopy showed diffuse vascular spots with oozing bleeding on the rectum. The lesions were successfully treated by APC. These two patients have had no bleeding since their treatment, and they are currently being evaluated by follow-up studies at the outpatient department. (Korean J Gastrointest Endosc 2009;38:171-175)

• Keywords: Liver cirrhosis, Argon plasma coagulation, Gastric antral vascular ectasia, Vascular ectasia