Bleeding from a tear in the gastric mucosa caused by transoesophageal echocardiography during cardiac surgery: effective haemostasis by endoscopic argon plasma coagulation.

We present an unusual complication of transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) during cardiac surgery. Although the patient had no oesophageal or gastrointestinal disease, a gastric mucosal tear of approximately 2 cm long occurred in the mucosa just distal to the gastrooesophageal junction caused by the TOE probe. Bleeding from the tear was stopped using endoscopic argon plasma coagulation.