Intraoperative push enteroscopy for treatment of occult small bowel bleed due to hemorrhagic bleed and tumor: a report of two cases

Small bowel bleeds, while uncommon, are often challenging with regard to diagnosis and therapeutic intervention. This is primarily due to their occult nature, the location offending lesions and limitations of current technology used to assess them. This review highlights two patients who presented with signs and symptoms of a small bowel bleed, where initial diagnostic workups were inconclusive, and intraoperative enteroscopy served a diagnostic and therapeutic role. We discuss the current literature on intraoperative endoscopy and propose an algorithm that introduces intraoperative enteroscopy earlier as a viable curative option, particularly in a rural setting. This case series proposes considerations for earlier introduction of intraoperative enteroscopy for diagnosis and treatment of small bowel bleeds.