Purpose of review: Gastric vascular abnormalities are a well known cause of gastrointestinal bleeding. Due to their recurrent bleeding tendency and potential to cause life-threatening blood loss, gastric vascular abnormalities can result in significant morbidity and cost.
Recent findings: There have been novel advances in medical and endoscopic management of gastric vascular lesions. New data suggest that endoscopic band ligation and ablation may be comparable, or even superior, to argon plasma coagulation (APC) for management of gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE). A creative, highly sensitive and specific computer-assisted tool has been developed to facilitate reading video capsule endoscopies for the detection of angiodysplasias, paving the way for artificial intelligence incorporation in vascular lesions diagnostics. Over-the-scope clipping is a relatively new technology that shows promising results in controlling bleeding from Dieulafoy's lesions.
Summary: In this article, we will broadly review the management of the most prevalent gastric vascular lesions, focusing on the most recent areas of research.