Intraoperative scintigraphy for active small intestinal bleeding

Localizing active sites of bleeding within the small intestine remains a difficult task. Endoscopic, angiographic or scintigraphic studies may point to the small intestine as the site of blood loss, but at operation, without a palpable lesion, the exact site of bleeding remains elusive. Patients are managed at laparotomy with intraoperative endoscopy, angiography, multiple enterotomies, "blind" resections, or placement of an enterostomy. We describe two patients in whom intraoperative scintigraphy accurately identified active sites of bleeding in the small intestine when other modalities failed. Intraoperative scintigraphy is rapid, easy to perform and is an effective means of identifying active sites of bleeding within the small intestine.