Minimal invasive management of proximal small bowel bleeding: A case report and reviewing the evidences

Abstract

Objective: Gastrointestinal bleeding is one of the surgical emergencies that is routinely visited in emergency departments. Although most of these patients are managed with endoscopic modalities, some of them are managed with surgical interventions. Most of emergency surgical interventions are done via laparotomy. With evolution in minimal invasive surgery, the role of laparoscopic surgeries in emergency settings is on a rise. Case Presentation: In this report we describe a case of lower gastrointestinal bleeding that was presented with melena and during workups no bleeding lesion was detected in colon, stomach or duodenum. Further investigations revealed bleeding of proximal jejunum mass that was resected with the laparoscopic approach which is rarely used in the emergency management of patients with gastrointestinal bleedings. Also, resection and anastomosis of proximal jejunal loop was challenging in this case. Conclusion: This report is intended to describe the feasibility of laparoscopy in proximal small bowel lesion resection in emergency settings as well as the role of computed tomography (CT) angiography in detecting the source of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.