Gastrointestinal (GI) bleed embolization is a minimally invasive procedure that is used to stop bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. GI bleed can be subdivided into two categories, Upper GI Bleed and Lower GI bleed.
Upper GI bleeding, which originates proximal to the ligament of Treitz, is more common than lower GI bleeding, which arises distal to the ligament of Treitz.
These bleeding episodes can occur due to variety of reasons such as peptic ulcer disease, neoplastic conditions, presence of vascular malformations, rarely due to postoperative pseudoaneurysm formation, portal hypertensive gastropathy, hemosuccus pancreatitis and so on.
During the procedure, a catheter is inserted through a small incision in the groin and guided to the site of bleeding under X-ray guidance. Tiny embolic agents, such as coils or liquid embolic agents, are then injected through the catheter to block the blood flow to the bleeding vessel and stop the bleeding.
Embolisation of GI bleeding is a live saving treatment and usually needs to be performed on an emergency basis. It is usually done under local anaesthesia and roughly can take about an hour.