Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Treatment Options

Mayo Clinic specialists have a variety of treatment options, depending on the source of your GI bleeding:

• Endoscopic thermal probe can treat bleeding ulcers and other abnormalities by burning (coagulating) the blood vessel or abnormal tissue.
• Argon plasma coagulation and radiofrequency ablation are other types of thermal techniques used to treat abnormal blood vessels in the stomach, small intestine and colon.
• Endoscopic clips can be used to close a bleeding vessel or other defective tissue.
• Endoscopic band ligation uses special rubber bands to treat bleeding hemorrhoids and bleeding vessels in the esophagus.
• Endoscopic cryotherapy freezes abnormal blood vessels in the stomach.
• Endoscopic intravariceal cyanoacrylate injection uses a special glue to treat difficult bleeding from abnormal blood vessels in the stomach.
• Angiographic embolization injects particles directly into a blood vessel to stop bleeding.

If the source of your GI bleeding can't be found, your Mayo Clinic doctor may prescribe a supplement to replace iron that is lost with slow bleeding. In severe cases, you may need a blood transfusion.