J Vandervoort, H Montes, R Soetikno, et al. Brief Reports 392 GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY VOLUME 49, NO. 3, PART 1, 1999 Use of endoscopic band ligation in the treatment of ongoing rectal bleeding Jo Vandervoort, MD Henry Montes, MD Roy M. Soetikno, MD Chinweke Ukomadu, MD David L. Carr-Locke, MD Lower GI bleeding is self-limiting in the majority of cases and only 15% of patients require further diagnostic evaluation and treatment. Although surgery has been the treatment of choice in severe ongoing bleeding of the colon and rectum, new endo- scopic treatment modalities are being evaluated as alternatives. One of these is endoscopic band liga- tion. We report two patients with severe ongoing rectal bleeding successfully treated by band ligation as an alternative to surgery. CASE REPORTS Case 1 A 50-year-old man with a 2-year history of lung cancer presented with hematochezia. His hematocrit level had decreased from 28% to 19%. At the initial evaluation the patient was cachectic and tachypneic. Digital rectal exami- nation revealed bright red blood. Physical examination was otherwise unremarkable. On admission hemoglobin was 6.0 gm/dL and platelets were 538,000. Coagulation tests From the Division of Gastroenterology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Reprint requests: Jo Vandervoort, MD, Division of Gastroenter- ology, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Ziekenhuis, Moorselbaan, 164, B-9300 Aalst, Belgium. Copyright © 1999 by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 0016-5107/99/$8.00 + 0 37/54/94915