Abstract
We report on five patients with liver disease requiring blood transfusion because
of recurrent acute or chronic bleeding from diffuse antral vascular ectasia (watermelon
stomach). All were initially misinterpreted as hemorrhagic gastritis. Medical treatment
with antiulcer drugs failed to control blood loss. Nd-YAG laser therapy (medium number
of sessions: n = 4, range: 1-8) improved the endoscopic appearance of the gastric
lesions and effectively controlled blood loss in all patients over a medium follow
up period of eight months (range: 2-12 months). Treatment related complications did
not occur.
