INTRAOPERATIVE LOCALIZATION OF SMALL-INTESTINAL BLEEDING IN AN INFANTBY METHYLENE-BLUE INJECTION - A CASE-REPORT

During the evaluation of patients with profuse gastrointestinal bleedi ng, it is often difficult to accurately localize bleeding sites in the small intestine. Moreover, during laparotomy, there may be no intraop erative findings to allow identification and resection of the bleeding lesion. Here the authors report a case of severe intestinal bleeding in an infant in whom the intraoperative injection of methylene blue dy e into a terminal branch of the superior mesenteric artery was critica l in determining the exact location of bleeding. After accurate locali zation of the bleeding source and segmental intestinal resection, the child recovered uneventfully with no recurrence of gastrointestinal bl eeding, To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported use of t his technique in infancy. Copyright (C) 1998 by W.B. Saunders Company.