Successful Treatment of Bleeding Rectal Varices with Balloon-Occluded Antegrade Transvenous Obliteration

We report the first described case in the United States of balloon-occluded antegrade transvenous obliteration (BATO) performed in a cirrhotic patient with recurrent bleeding from large rectal varices. This is a novel interventional radiology approach to treat bleeding rectal varices. Our patient was a poor candidate for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt and endoscopic band ligation. Successful BATO produced complete resolution of rectal varices and no further rectal bleeding. There are no established guidelines for the management of rectal varices. We demonstrate that the BATO technique is a viable option to treat recurrent bleeding due to rectal varices.