These polyps can significantly bleed and therefore it needs to be treated. In patients who do not have residual watermelon stomach, simple polypectomy should do the trick. In some patients the polyp is so large that they can be seen prolapsing back into the pylorus. In summary, watermelon stomach is an easily diagnosed disease. You can make the diagnosis at the bedside.
Endoscopic therapy is the treatment of choice.
The benefits of endoscopic therapy are long lasting, and one has to remember vitamin B-12 deficiency as a possible cause for refractory anemia. It is imperative to remember that portal hyperplastic gastropathy does not respond to endoscopic therapy. Now, I m not going to lose your attention yet. It s interesting that in patients with watermelon stomach, one of the hypotheses is that the condition is associated with trauma from antrum motility and you do see a lot of antrum motility in these patients. Again, an uncommon condition.