Rectal Arteriovenous Malformation: A Report of Two Cases, Review of Literature, and Management Algorithm

Abstract Diffuse cavernous haemangioma of rectum (DCHR) is rare in clinical practice. Rarely, DCHR may be associated with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome and are commonly misdiagnosed, and treated as hemorrhoids. The usual presentation is with painless bleeding per rectum. Despite many diagnostic modalities available today, the correct diagnosis is difficult to arrive at. Although the management of these cases has evolved over years, it still remains a challenge for the surgeons because of the nature and extent of involvement and risk of bleeding during the surgery. The advocated surgical interventions vary from abdomino-perineal resection (APR) to sphincter preserving surgery. Recently, transarterial embolization (TAE) has been found to be useful as a nonsurgical method of treatment in select cases of DCHR. DCHR with extension upto dentate line in young patients can be managed by sphincter preserving surgery with the advent of modern staplers, avoiding the abdominoperineal resection and a permanent stoma. We present two cases of this rare entity, DCHR, managed in our department by ultralow anterior resection with stapled anastomosis, with a review of the literature emphasizing on management.