title: Dieulafoy's vascular malformation: role of endoscopic ultrasonography in therapeutic decision-making.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dieulafoy's vascular malformation may cause severe, potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopic diagnosis may be difficult because of minute mucosal lesions, and additional intramural abnormalities are usually not encountered. Endoluminal high-frequency ultrasonography is a new modality for imaging intramural and perivisceral structures.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report two cases of recurrent severe gastric bleeding in which different endosonographic modalities were used in the diagnosis of Dieulafoy's malformation, and the impact of endosonography on therapeutic strategy is discussed. In the first case a radial-scanning 7.5/12-MHz echoendoscope and a linear 20-MHz miniature probe were applied for B-mode imaging in a stable-state patient who had undergone previous endoscopic sclerotherapy, and arterial flow signals from the small intramural lesion were recorded using a 10-MHz transendoscopic pulsed Doppler probe. In the other case urgent endosonography was performed shortly after a bleeding episode, disclosing an aberrant large-calibre artery entering the gastric wall with a long submucosal branch.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both patients were successfully operated on with a transabdominal approach.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Endosonography is a quick and safe diagnostic method and should be considered when vascular malformations are suspected as the cause of gastric bleeding.
authors.affiliation: Medical Dept. A, Haukeland Hospital, Deaconess Hospital, University of Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Nesje
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skarstein
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matre
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Myking
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Odegaard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001165:Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D019160:Endosonography / Q000379:methods; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler