Massive rectal bleeding from a Dieulafoy's type ulcer of the rectum: a review of this unusual disease.

Dieulafoy's ulcer is an uncommon lesion that usually presents with massive bleeding. Although it has been observed, for the most part, in the stomach, it has also been identified in the small bowel and colon. Both endoscopy and angiography have been used for diagnosis; however, endoscopy has had a high failure rate for localizing colonic disease during active bleeding. Treatment has been primarily surgical, but endoscopic coagulation and sclerotherapy have been recently employed. A 20-year-old male presented with massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding, which was found to be caused by a Dieulafoy's ulcer in the rectum. Observation of Dieulafoy's ulcer in the rectum has not been reported previously. Diagnosis was by rigid sigmoidoscopy. This lesion was treated by widely oversewing the vessel after endoscopic therapy failed. The etiology of this lesion is most likely congenital. Hemorrhage probably occurs as a result of mechanical damage of the mucosa, combined with erosion of the vessel by fecal flow. Unlike colonic Dieulafoy's ulcers, it should be possible to diagnose rectal lesions by rigid sigmoidoscopy. This diagnosis may be difficult with high rectal ulcers, and angiography may have to be employed. Endoscopic therapy failed here, as in other reports on colonic disease. Thus, we would recommend widely oversewing rectal lesions as the primary treatment. Resection should be reserved for cases that have failed this therapy.