We present a female patient with continuous melena, diagnosed with rectal variceal bleeding. She had a history of esophageal varices, which were treated with endoscopic therapy. Five years after the treatment of esophageal varices, continuous melena occurred. Since colonoscopy showed that the melena was caused by giant rectal varices, we thought that they were not suitable to receive endoscopic treatment. We chose the modified percutaneous transhepatic obliteration with sclerosant, which is one of the interventional radiology techniques but a new clinical procedure for rectal varices. After the patient received this therapy, her condition of rectal varices was markedly improved.

This case report concerns a 62-year-old female who was known to have cirrhosis. An endoscopic examination showed no evidence of haemorrhaging due to either oesophageal or gastric varices. Angiographic studies demonstrated extravasation from the ileal varices. There was a prominent arterio-portal shunt in the liver, and the shunt was considered to be a contributing factor to induce portal hypertension and variceal bleeding in the ileum. Therefore, transcatheter arterial embolization was performed, but was unsuccessful. As a result, the patient underwent a laparotomy, and a dilatating ileocaecal vein and a communicating ovarian vein were selectively ligated. Following the procedure, the haemorrhaging stopped and she then recovered. The patient is doing well 21 months after surgery at the time of writing.

Varix formation is a well recognized complication of portal hypertension. Rarely, varices may form in the distribution of the mesenteric veins. We present a case of mesenteric varices evaluated by color flow Doppler ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiography.

Peristomal variceal bleeding is a serious complication in patients with chronic liver disease undergoing colon surgery with a stoma. Our aim was to examine the morbidity of bleeding for peristomal, perianastomotic, and esophageal varices in a group of patients with chronic liver disease who underwent colectomy at the Mayo Clinic between 1970 and 1988. Morbidity was evaluated in terms of the number of major bleeding episodes and the number of units of blood transfused. The treatment of bleeding was also evaluated. One hundred seventeen patients (74 males and 43 females) aged 11-78 years were studied. Sixty-two patients (53 percent) had a permanent stoma, while 55 patients (47 percent) had a colonic resection and anastomosis. Sixty-seven patients (62 percent) had chronic ulcerative colitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis. In the stoma group, bleeding appeared from stomal and/or esophageal varices in 19 patients (31 percent), while, in the non-stoma group, bleeding exclusively from the esophageal varices occurred in eight patients (15 percent). Perianastomotic variceal bleeding was never observed. The 5-year cumulative probabilities of one major bleed occurring from gastrointestinal varices appeared to be similar between the two groups. Patients who bled from peristomal varices with or without esophageal bleeding (n = 17) rebled more frequently (6.5 +/- 5.5 vs. 3 +/- 1.6; P less than 0.05) and were transfused more often (14.9 +/- 12.3 vs. 7.5 +/- 4.1; P less than 0.05) than patients who bled exclusively from esophageal varices (n = 10). No difference was found in the incidence of recurrent bleeding and the number of units of blood transfused between patients who bled exclusively from peristomal varices (n = 10) and those who bled from both peristomal and esophageal varices (n = 7). Medical and local measures were more effective in controlling esophageal bleeding than in controlling peristomal bleeding. Therefore, patients with chronic liver disease who must undergo colectomy should have a distal anastomosis rather than a terminal stoma.

Variceal bleeding from ileostomy, colostomy, or ileal conduit stomas is unusual. There is no consensus on which of the various treatment options is best. A case of bleeding ileostomy varices is presented. The English-language medical literature since 1962 is reviewed and an additional 71 cases of stomal variceal bleeding are identified. Treatment options evaluated include stomal manipulation, variceal ligation, sclerotherapy, beta blockade, and surgical shunting. The incidence of rebleeding, requirement for additional procedures, and survival with the various options are compared. Although stomal manipulation was the most commonly performed procedure, portosystemic shunting had the lowest incidence of both rebleeding and need for additional procedures (4 percent each) and provided the longest mean postoperative survival (50 months). The authors conclude that portosystemic shunting is the treatment of choice in patients with bleeding from stomal varices who are good surgical candidates.

Appearances simulating neoplastic masses were found in five patients undergoing computed tomographic (CT) scanning of the chest and abdomen for a variety of indications. In each case the appearance was shown to be due to dilated collateral venous channels in association with portal hypertension or interruption of the inferior vena cava. The vascular origin of the masses was confirmed by CT scanning during intravenous bolus injection of contrast. Angiographic confirmation was obtained in three subjects. Enlarged collateral veins should be considered in the differential diagnosis of appearances suggesting mediastinal or abdominal lymphadenopathy at CT scanning.