Summary
During the period from January, 1976 to December, 1979 we performed 5000 upper gastrointestinal
endoscopic examinations. Of these 650 were for gastrointestinal bleeding. In nine
patients we found, endoscopically localized mucosal vascular abnormalities of the
stomach and duodenum. Repeated endoscopic examinations were necessary in four cases
before the correct diagnosis was made. Three telangiopathies (as we prefer to call
them) were found incidentally, and in six cases endoscopy was performed because of
gastrointestinal bleeding. In five of the six cases with bleeding, the telangiopathy
(TAP) probably was the bleeding lesion. The treatment of choice is endoscopic, either
by electrodestruction with mono-polar current, or by removal with a diathermy snare.
Neither barium meal x-rays of the upper gastrointestinal tract in five cases, nor
exploratory laparotomy in two cases, revealed the telangiopathies. There has been
no rebleeding after the treatment, except for one case in which another TAP of the
small or large bowel is implicated
Key words:
Electrocoagulation of vascular lesions - Telangiectasia - Hemangioma - Gastrointestinal
hemorrhage
