[Dieulafoy's lesion of the right hemicolon].

Dieulafoy's lesion was described in 1896 by the French pathologist Georges D. Dieulafoy as a vascular malformation in the stomach. Although usually found in the stomach, the lesion may occur anywhere within the gastrointestinal tract and can cause severe hemorrhage. There is no sex or age predilection. The diagnosis is established endoscopically, and the current therapy of choice is endoscopic hemoclipping. Only rarely is the diagnosis confirmed histologically. We report the case of an elderly female patient who, while hospitalised for a slipped intervertebral disc, presented with lower gastrointestinal bleeding. The source of the bleeding was suspected to be in the right colon by endoscopy. Renewed massive bleeding necessitated surgical treatment with resection of the right hemicolon. The histological work-up of the resected specimen identified a 350-micron large tortuous submucosal artery that had eroded.