Intestinal arteriovenous malformation involving the descending colon: a case report

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) comprising a feeding artery, nidus, and draining vein rarely develop in the gastrointestinal tract. Although almost all AVMs are asymptomatic, they cause massive painless rectal bleeding and subsequent chronic anemia. The definitive diagnosis of AVM is achieved by selective mesenteric angiography, and surgical resection is the treatment of choice. We detected an intestinal AVM involving the descending colon in a patient with severe hematochezia. The diagnosis was made by CT angiography performed using a 64-channel MDCT and the obtained 3D reconstruction images. The AVM showed an extensive vascular network on CT images, and it was treated by surgical resection. Here, we report this case of an intestinal AVM along with its imaging findings