Anorectal varices are an uncommon, but significant, source of bleeding in patients with portal hypertension. The aim of this article was to review systematically the available literature on the aetiology, clinical presentation and management of anorectal varices, and to suggest a simple treatment algorithm based on available evidence and local expertise.

A systematic literature search was carried out to identify articles on anorectal varices, and the search strategy identified 57 relevant references. The inclusion criteria included a consecutive cohort of patients having treatment for anorectal varices with details of success rates and the number of different techniques used. Exclusion criteria included papers published in languages other than English with no English version and results not reported separately for anorectal varices.

Anorectal varices can occur in up to 89% of patients with portal hypertension, although the overall incidence in the general population is low. Diagnosis is best achieved with anoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy. The current evidence supports the use of local procedures, such as endoscopic band ligation, to arrest bleeding where feasible, with radiological or surgical procedures used in the event of failure.

As there are no large series on this pathology, we present a systematic approach for the patient with anorectal varices.

We present a female patient with continuous melena, diagnosed with rectal variceal bleeding. She had a history of esophageal varices, which were treated with endoscopic therapy. Five years after the treatment of esophageal varices, continuous melena occurred. Since colonoscopy showed that the melena was caused by giant rectal varices, we thought that they were not suitable to receive endoscopic treatment. We chose the modified percutaneous transhepatic obliteration with sclerosant, which is one of the interventional radiology techniques but a new clinical procedure for rectal varices. After the patient received this therapy, her condition of rectal varices was markedly improved.

A patient is described presenting with an acute lower gastrointestinal haemorrhage as a result of extensive colonic varices. Further investigation revealed that there were no oesophageal varices or splenomegaly. Liver biopsy showed grade II fatty change only, with no other specific or significant pathological features. Transhepatic portography showed a raised portal pressure (20 mm/Hg) but the portal system was patent throughout. There was an abnormal leash of vessels in the caecum thought to represent a variceal plexus. This patient was diagnosed as having idiopathic colonic varices. This case is discussed together with nine other reports of idiopathic colonic varices from the published literature. Four of these reports describe idiopathic colonic varices in more than one member of the same family. Possible modes of inheritance, aetiology of variceal change, natural history, and prognosis are discussed.

Small-bowel varices are rare, occurring almost exclusively in patients with portal hypertension. A patient with ileal varices due to mesenteric venous occlusion by metastatic tumor is reported. This association has not been described previously.