Angiodysplasia of the small bowel: a method of intraoperative identification

Two cases of recurrent bleeding from the gastro-intestinal tract are described. The initial diagnosis and the identification of the lesions at laparotomy were difficult problems. In both cases the bleeding was due to a vascular lesion of the small bowel, referred to as angiodysplasia. The lesions were detected before operation by selective angiography and identified at laparotomy by a preoperative and an intraoperative injection of a vital stain through the catheter into the feeding vessels.