Colonoscopic removal of a polypoid arteriovenous malformation.
A 53-year-old male presenting with a 3-month history of intermittent mild rectal bleeding was found, on double contrast barium enema, to have a large polyp on a long stalk in the sigmoid colon. Large bowel endoscopy confirmed the presence of a 2 cm pedunculated polyp which was removed using a diathermic snare, with slight bleeding following the procedure that did not require endoscopic haemostasis. Only after histologic examination was the polyp shown to be a colonic arteriovenous malformation. Endoscopically, arteriovenous malformations generally appear as flat or elevated bright red lesions. A pedunculated polypoid appearance is extremely uncommon. In this case, no gastrointestinal bleeding or polypoid recurrence was observed during the 12 months of clinical and endoscopic follow-up.
D'Arienzo
A
A
Unit of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Federico II University of Naples, Italy. darienzo@unina.it
Manguso
F
F
D'Armiento
F P
FP
Bennato
R
R
Somma
P
P
Pisani
A
A
Panarese
A
A
Mazzacca
G
G
D001165:Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000601:surgery*; D003111:Colonic Polyps / Q000098:blood supply / Q000601:surgery*; D003113:Colonoscopy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged