[Gastric cavernous hemangioma as a cause of upper digestive hemorrhage]

Upper digestive bleeding caused by an isolated gastric hemangioma is a rather rare occurrence, even in cases of Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome. The case reported here, which brings to 40 the number reported in the world literature, is that of a 68-year-old patient who presented with upper digestive bleeding. Endoscopy led us to suspect a hemangioma due to the abnormally large lesion, a suspicion that was confirmed preoperatively through arteriography, which detected a hypervascular mass of 6 x 4 cm dependent on the gastroduodenal artery. This finding was in turn confirmed by the surgical intervention. Diagnostic difficulties based on barium studies, endoscopy and surgical exploration have meant that preoperative diagnosis has been rare in the cases published to date. We consider that a more liberal use of arteriography could reverse this tendency, as indeed our case has shown. Furthermore, we feel that arteriography is indicated in cases of upper digestive bleeding of obscure origin, which might be due to small angiomas that may be overlooked in other diagnostic tests.