Minimally invasive treatment of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding using laparoscopic ultrasonography

The management of patients with small bowel bleeding remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge because sensitive methods are lack and identifying the etiology and site of hemorrhage is essential in determining appropriate therapies. Accurate localization of small bowel lesions causing obscure bleeding is essential for the successful surgical treatment. However, if the lesions are small and intraluminal nature, it is impossible to identify the lesions by laparoscopy alone. We report a novel approach using the combination of laparoscopic surgery with laparoscopic ultrasonography, which enables successful minimally invasive treatment of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding caused by a submucosal tumor in proximal ileum.