Angiodysplasia of the appendix

Angiodysplasia of the gastrointestinal tract is thought to be one of the mo st common causes of lower gastrointestinal bleeding in the elderly, and, in the majority of cases, lesions are located in the cecum or ascending colon . The authors report an extremely rare case of appendicular angiodysplasia. A 76-yr-old woman was hospitalized with massive recurrent red anal bleedin g. Selective superior mesenteric arteriography revealed an extravasation of contrast material from the appendicular artery, and this finding proved to be bleeding from an angiodysplasia of the appendix. An appendectomy was pe rformed, and anal bleeding did not recur postoperatively. A review of the l iterature revealed this to be an extremely rare case of angiodysplasia. (Am J Gastroenterol 2001;96:242-244. (C) 2001 by Am. Coll. of Gastroenterology ).