Gastric teratoma is an extremely rare tumor that accounts for less than 1% of all teratomas. Gastric teratoma is mostly presented as a palpable abdominal mass, and is rarely accompanied with gastrointestinal bleeding such as melena or hematemesis. A 5-month-old male infant was brought with a history of pale facial color and dark-colored stool. The hemoglobin level was at 6.1 g/dL, with melena having begun 1 month previous. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a polypoid mass with bleeding at the upper body and lesser curvature of the stomach. Wedge resection of the stomach was performed and histopathological analysis confirmed the mass to be a mature cystic teratoma. There was no recurrence after the operation during follow-up.

The major complications of Meckel's diverticulum(MD) are bleeding, intestinal obstruction, infection, umbilical fistula and perforation. Although the relative incidences vary between authors, bleeding is the most common complication in children. The aim of our study is to show the symptomatic guideline for the diagnosis of the bleeding MD. Eight cases with bleeding MD which were operated upon at the department of Pediatric Surgery, Yeungnam University Hospital from April 1985 to April 2001 were reviewed. Half of the patients were under 2 years of age and all patients were male. All patients were preoperatively diagnosed by previous history of intestinal bleeding (melena, hematochezia) and 99mTc pertechnetate MD scan. Segmental resection and end-to-end anastomosis was performed in 6 patients and diverticulectomy in 2 patients. Heterotropic gastric mucosa was found in 6 patients. Postoperative complication was not observed in any cases. In conclusion, in any male children with obscure intestinal bleeding, especially less than 2 years of age, bleeding MD must be suspected. It seems to us that 99mTc pertechnetate MD scan is a useful tool to diagnose bleeding MD.