Angiodysplasia is a malformation of the intestine that causes the blood vessels to enlarge and become brittle. It most often occurs in the cecum or ascending colon, but can also occur in the small intestine. The lesions are often multiple and difficult to diagnose due to their minute size. It is a common cause of gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia. Other medical terms for angiodysplasia include colonic vascular ectasia, colonic arteriovenous malformation, and colonic angiomas.
The disease is thought to be related to age-related degeneration of the blood vessels, as it usually occurs in adults over 50 years of age. Another likely cause is blockage of the veins in the colon due to stress on the intestinal wall. gets bigger. It is rarely associated with other intestinal disorders, such as diverticulosis or colon cancer.
Angiodysplasia typically occurs in less than one percent of the population and is usually found during a routine colonoscopy evaluation. It occurs equally in men and women. No racial or ethnic group is known to have a higher incidence of the condition. Patients with scleroderma or other autoimmune diseases are generally at increased risk of developing angiodysplasia.
The condition is typically not likely to cause pain. Symptoms of angiodysplasia often include dark, tarry stools, which is indicative of gastrointestinal bleeding. If blood loss is great, anemia could develop, leaving a patient weak and fatigued. For about 90 percent of patients, the condition resolves on its own without intervention, but it often recurs due to chronic distention of the colon's blood vessels.
When a doctor suspects angiodysplasia, an endoscopic procedure is usually ordered, either an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) or a colonoscopy. During an endoscopy, the doctor can treat the lesions by cauterization or by performing an argon plasma coagulation laser treatment. If the condition is advanced, surgical resection of the intestine may be necessary. The most commonly used procedure for resection is called a right hemicolectomy.
If surgery is not possible or bleeding is recurring, medications such as estrogen may be used to clot the blood and stop the bleeding. Scientists are evaluating the use of thalidomide as a possible treatment for angiodysplasia. Iron supplements may be given when bleeding has caused anemia.