Endoscopic ligation for patients with active bleeding Mallory-Weiss tears

Background: Only a few patients with active nonesophageal variceal upper ga strointestinal bleeding have been treated with endoscopic ligation. To furt her address this issue, four patients with active bleeding Mallory-Weiss te ars who underwent endoscopic band ligation are presented. Patients and Meth ods: Endoscopic ligation was performed in four patients with a median age o f 52 years (range, 40-93 years) after a diagnosis of active bleeding Mallor y-Weiss tears (MWTs). A 45-year-old man with massive persistent upper gastr ointestinal bleeding as a cause of a MWT underwent therapeutical endoscopic band ligation after an unsuccessful endoscopic injection trial. On the con trary, injection therapy should have been performed on a 93-year-old woman with multiple myeloma because of an actively bleeding MWT caused by the fib rotic tissue after an unsuccessful endoscopic ligation trial, although her other actively bleeding MWT lesion had been ligated successfully. Results: After endoscopic ligation, all patients achieved complete hemostas is, and rebleeding did not occur. They were discharged without complication s after a control endoscopy. Conclusions: Endoscopic ligation can be performed easily and without any co mplications such as perforation or delayed hemorrhage in patients with acti vely bleeding nonfibrotic MWTs.