Bleeding anorectal varices--a misunderstood condition.

The management of 13 patients who had bleeding anorectal varices is described and compared with the 20 cases reported to date. The diagnostic procedure of choice is anorectoscopy. Treatment by an under-running suture achieved primary control of bleeding in all patients, and during a median follow-up of 7 months (range, 1 to 36), two early and one late episodes of rebleeding occurred. As all patients had varices in the anal canal with only occasional extension into the rectum, the term "anorectal varices" is to be preferred.