Embolization of middle hemorrhoidal artery in the management of life-threatening rectal bleeding.

摘要

Angiography is now a well-established modality for the diagnosis of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Inferior mesenteric arte-riography and selective superior hemorrhoidal artery embolizations for such bleeding have been well documented. However, to our knowledge the selective embolization of the middle hemorrhoidal artery has not been reported. We describe a patient with life-threatening rectal bleeding that was successfully stopped by selective embolization of the middle hemorrhoidal or middle rectal artery (a branch of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery).