Iatrogenic fatal bleeding of ruptured gastric varix mimicking submucosal mass: An autopsy case

Abstract

A 66-year-old woman died during a routine gastroscopic examination. The physician tried to biopsy a submucosal mass-like lesion with tortuous and exaggerated submucosal blood vessels. Massive bleeding occurred due to iatrogenic injury. Isolated gastric varices are less prevalent than esophageal varices, but it has a higher motality rate because of the difficulty of controlling bleeding. Physicians should be mindful of isolated gastric varices, especially during examination of those with liver cirrhosis.