A case of liver cirrhosis with bleeding from stomal varices successfully treated using balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration

A 66-year-old male patient with liver cirrhosis because of alcohol intake underwent a Hartmann’s procedure for rectal cancer. Four months later, bleeding from the sigmoid stoma occurred and persisted for 2 months. A colonoscopic examination revealed bleeding from stomal varices. Three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) imaging demonstrated the inferior mesenteric vein and left superficial epigastric vein as the feeding and drainage vessels, respectively. Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO) through the left epigastric vein was performed using a microballoon catheter inserted from the right femoral vein according to the Seldinger method. A CT examination performed 2 days after the B-RTO procedure revealed that the blood flow had disappeared, with thrombosis formation in both the stomal varices and the feeding vein. No recurrent bleeding from the stoma occurred. B-RTO using a microballoon catheter is useful as a therapeutic procedure for stomal varices to prevent bleeding, since the procedure can be performed with minimal invasion using the Seldinger method.