A case of early colorectal cancer with rectal varices treated with endoscopic variceal ligation

Rectal varices are ectopic varices that occur in patients with portal hypertension and cause abrupt gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopic variceal ligation is a minimally invasive treatment used for patients with bleeding from rectal varices. Endoscopic treatment of colorectal tumors accompanied by rectal varices has been rarely reported. It is very important to control bleeding during treatment. The patient was a 76-year-old man who had a chief complaint of bloody stools. A flat-elevated-type neoplastic lesion measuring about 20 mm was found above the rectal varices. After performing endoscopic variceal ligation for rectal varices around the lesion, the lesion was resected en bloc by endoscopic submucosal dissection. Bleeding was controlled during the procedure; the patient was discharged 7 days after the endoscopic treatment, and there was no postoperative bleeding. Colonoscopy performed 90 days after the procedure showed scar formation in the wound area and no remnant lesion. The implementation of preoperative endoscopic variceal ligation enabled us to control bleeding during endoscopic treatment in a case of early colorectal cancer accompanied by rectal varices.