[Hemobilia as a rare cause of gastrointestinal bleeding]

In a 67-year-old man with upper abdominal and gastrointestinal bleeding gastroscopy revealed a duodenal ulcer which was initially taken to be the source of the bleeding. But subsequent retrograde cholangiography demonstrated nearly complete occlusion of the right hepatic duct and a suspicious tumour-like structure. At laparotomy a tumour was excluded and the supplying artery to the ulcer was ligated to arrest the bleeding. Gastrointestinal bleeding recurred postoperatively so that selective angiography of the hepatic artery had to be performed. This demonstrated an aneurysm of a branch of the hepatic artery near the hilus. No further bleeding occurred after its embolization. Haemobilia is a rare cause of upper abdominal bleeding and may be difficult to diagnose, except by selective imaging techniques.