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Angiodysplasia is a minor vascular malformation of the gut that often causes unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia.
Angiodysplasiais characterized by dilated tortuous vessels in the submucosa and mucosa. These changes are most often seen in the caecum and the right ascending colon. Bleeding occurs from the lower gastrointestinal tract. They can be acute and massive or chronic and recurrent. Doctors see the causes of this disease in, inter alia, in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and limited scleroderma. However, most cases are isolated changes. The main cause of angiodysplasia is unknown.
Angiodysplasia - symptoms
The characteristics are:
- recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding
- blood in stool
Angiodyspazja - diagnosis
The disease is diagnosed with endoscopy, colonoscopy or panendoscopy. There is also a new method of diagnosis, the so-called capsule endoscopy, which allows you to more easily reach the small intestine. This method involves swallowing a capsule containing a camera and a radio transmitter that sends pictures of the small intestine to the patient's receiver.
Angiodyspasia - treatment
In the case of acute anemia, the patient must first have a blood transfusion before performing the planned procedures. Others, with the help of an endoscope, perform laser burning of lesions or argon plasma coagulation. It may also be necessary to excise the damaged part of the intestine - this procedure is only performed when the changes are not too extensive. If severe bleeding wounds cannot be seen by colonoscopy, an embolism by angiography is considered. Angiodysplasia is also treated with conservative methods. In this case, measures that maintain homeostasis are used.