Dieulafoy's lesion

Dieulafoy's lesion is a medical condition characterized by a large tortuous arteriole most commonly in the stomach wall (submucosal) that erodes and bleeds. It can present in any part of the gastrointestinal tract. It can cause gastric hemorrhage but is relatively uncommon. It is thought to cause less than 5% of all gastrointestinal bleeds in adults. It was named after French surgeon Paul Georges Dieulafoy, who described this condition in his paper 'Exulceratio simplex: Leçons 1-3' in 1898. It is also called 'caliber-persistent artery' or 'aneurysm' of gastric vessels. However, unlike most other aneurysms, these are thought to be developmental malformations rather than degenerative changes. Dieulafoy's lesion is a medical condition characterized by a large tortuous arteriole most commonly in the stomach wall (submucosal) that erodes and bleeds. It can present in any part of the gastrointestinal tract. It can cause gastric hemorrhage but is relatively uncommon. It is thought to cause less than 5% of all gastrointestinal bleeds in adults. It was named after French surgeon Paul Georges Dieulafoy, who described this condition in his paper 'Exulceratio simplex: Leçons 1-3' in 1898. It is also called 'caliber-persistent artery' or 'aneurysm' of gastric vessels. However, unlike most other aneurysms, these are thought to be developmental malformations rather than degenerative changes. The symptoms due to bleeding are hematemesis and/or melena. A Dieulafoy's lesion is difficult to diagnose, because of the intermittent pattern of bleeding. Endoscopically it is not easy to recognize and therefore sometimes multiple views have to be performed over a longer period. Today angiography is a good additional diagnostic, but then it can only be seen during a bleeding at that exact time. In contrast to peptic ulcer disease, a history of alcohol abuse or NSAID use is usually absent in DL.