Stromal tumors of the jejunum and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Use of minimally invasive techniques in three cases

Gastrointestinal bleeding is considered to be obscure when routine endoscopic techniques (esophagogastroscopy and colonoscopy) fail to identify the origin of the hemorrhage. These hemorrhages represent 5% of all gastrointestinal bleeding. Twenty-seven percent of these hemorrhages are due to small bowel disease and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are a frequent cause, especially in middle-aged patients. We present three cases that illustrate the difficulty of diagnosing this clinical entity. We emphasize the use of minimally invasive techniques such as computed tomography and laparoscopic surgery in the complicated management of these patients. We believe that the use of these techniques could avoid the need for other more aggressive procedures and allow the application of early definitive surgical treatment with the advantages of laparoscopic surgery.