THERAPEUTIC AND PROPHYLACTIC TRANSCATHETER THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH MASSIVE ARTERIAL UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL HEMORRHAGE

Patients with massive upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage can present d ifficult problems of diagnosis and management. In some cases the bleed ing site may be localized endoscopically but in many other patients th e precise localization requires selective angiographic studies. When a lesion responsible for bleeding is identified, modern embolization te chniques or treatment with intra-arterial vasopressin often results in effective and rapid control of haemorrhage. In selected patients in w hom the source of bleeding is not demonstrated during angiography, pro phylactic embolization of the left gastric artery can make a significa nt contribution to clinical management.