BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal stomal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, and the stomach is the most commonly involved organ. Complete surgical resection with negative margins is the primary and only potentially curative treatment. Surgeon experience with minimally invasive gastric resections in addition to the tumor size and site has to be considered in the choice of laparoscopic or open surgical approach in order to remove the lesion.

CASE REPORT: A 67-year-old male patient with an history of gastric ulcer presented 2 days after an esophagogastroduodenoscopy with an incidental finding of a 30-mm gastric submucosal lesion that was not histologically defined (biopsies were taken), chest pain in association with hematemesis, and melena. An initial attempt to achieve endoscopic hemostasis with epinephrine injection was followed by the recurrence of the gastric bleeding until the presentation of hemorrhagic shock. An emergent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy was then performed for hemorrhage control. There were no intra- or postoperative major complications and the histological findings led to the diagnosis of a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).

CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a bariatric surgical treatment of morbid obesity. This report describes the application of a bariatric procedure in a life-threatening situation and illustrates how safe and effective it can be when performed by surgeons with excellent laparoscopic skills.

Keywords: Gastrectomy, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, Laparoscopy, Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive