Dieulafoy's disease of the large and small bowel

The Dieulafoy lesion is a rare cause of severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The lesion is usually located in the stomach, although it may occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract. We describe four patients with extragastric Dieulafoy's disease, in the duodenum (one), the proximal jejunum (two), and the left hemicolon (one). Diagnosis was made by endoscopy in all four and confirmed by histology in three. The pathology of the Dieulafoy lesion is essentially the same throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Endoscopic treatment by sclerotherapy combined with electrocoagulation was successful in the duodenal and colonic Dieulafoy lesions, but not in the jejunal lesions.