Gastral antral vascular ectasias – Successful long-term result with complex endoscopic treatment, including band ligation and HPU/APC

Introduction: Gastral antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) is a rare cause of upper GI bleeding, that affects mainly antral mucosa and submucosa, as a small-vessel malformation. The endoscopic manifestation is very special with lenghtwise vascular ectasias leading to pylorus, mimicking stripes of the watermelon, or diffuse antral involvement (DAVE), showing honey-comb feature. In majority of cases it occurs in patients suffering liver cirrhosis or autoimmune disease. It can cause even occult bleeding, leading to chronic anemy, or overt, life-threatening bleeding, as well. Patients: In the last 6 years we diagnosed GAV…