Endoscopic tattooing of small bowel by double - balloon endoscopy

Inflammatory vascular polyps that are complicated by bleeding are difficult to diagnose and localise during the operation. With the improvement in the diagnosis of the small bowel tumours with double balloon endoscopy, the preoperative localization of the lesion is essential to undertake appropriate surgery, and to reduce the time for surgery and avoid resection of wrong segment of small bowel. Double balloon endoscopic tattooing of small bowel tumours and lesions is a new modality to ease the surgery when resection of small bowel is indicated. The literature about double balloon endoscopic tattoo is scant. We present a rare case of small bowel polyp that caused bleeding and the successful use of double balloon endoscopic tattoo preoperatively for the localization of the lesion during surgical procedure. (Dig Endosc 2013;4(2):49-51)