The utility of video capsule endoscopy (VCE) for the detection of small bowel bleeding arising from benign and malignant tumors: report of two cases.

Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) has become a first-line diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of small bowel bleeding. Prior to VCE, procedures to visualize the site of small intestinal bleeding were rudimentary and frequently delivered inconclusive findings. VCE allows for improved visualization, resulting in more accurate identification of benign and malignant tumors of the small bowel. VCE provides the opportunity for prompt identification while allowing for precise surgical excision of the involved bowel, with maximum salvage of normal tissue. We report two clinical cases of small bowel tumors diagnosed by using video capsule endoscopy. The pathology showed one lesion to be a lipoma and the other a carcinoid tumor. Both cases presented in similar fashions as intestinal hemorrhage, yet one lesion was benign and the other malignant.