Gastric phytobezoars as a very unusual cause of gastric outlet obstruction.

Bezoars are collections of indigestible foreign material found in the gastrointestinal tract. Phytobezoars are the most common among the types of bezoars. Treatment of phytobezoars is categorized into four types: chemical dissolution, endoscopic removal, adjuvant prokinetics, and surgery. Complications from phytobezoars can include gastric outlet obstruction (GOO), ileus, ulcerations, gastrointestinal bleeding, and perforation. Herein, we present an 86-year-old woman with refractory postprandial vomiting. Then, exploratory laparotomy was performed and the diagnosis was gastric phytobezoar. Phytobezoars-induced GOO is rare and its diagnosis is still a challenge.

A Rare Case of Phytobezoar Related to Occupational Exposure.

Bezoars constitute a compacted collection of undigested or partially digested material, potentially leading to intestinal obstruction. They most frequently occur in the stomach, with classification based on their composition. Many gastric bezoars are asymptomatic and frequently manifest in patients with gastrointestinal disturbances or psychiatric issues.  We present a rare case of a bezoar related to occupational exposure that illustrates the least-discussed health risks associated with certain jobs.

Has Coca-Cola treatment become the first-line therapy for gastric bezoars, both in general and specifically for western countries?

Phytobezoars is a rare disease and less common in Western countries. The stomach is the primary site for these formations, and endoscopic treatment involving fragmentation and extraction has traditionally been the most effective approach. However, medical treatments using enzymatic and chemical agents, such as cellulase and Coca-Cola, aimed at dissolving the bezoars, have also been utilized, showing varying degrees of resolution success. Notably, the oral dissolution treatment with Coca-Cola has emerged as a promising, simpler, and more cost-effective method. The study by Liu et al represents an important step in clinical research on this topic, despite some limitations that need addressing for a more comprehensive understanding of its findings. Key considerations for future research include sample size calculation, endoscopic procedure details, outpatient vs. inpatient treatment, and detailed cost calculations. The study's exclusions, such as patients with upper gastric surgery, phytobezoars older than 14 d, and cases of gastroparesis, limit its applicability to broader populations, especially in Western countries. Given the promising outcomes of the Coca-Cola treatment, it's advocated as a first-line therapy for phytobezoars. Nonetheless, further research is essential to overcome these limitations. However special situations such as perforation or small bowel obstruction will require surgical treatment.

Multiple small bowel obstructions due to unusual formation of biliary phytobezoars following laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a sickler patient: A case report, an atypical surgical approach.

INTRODUCTION & IMPORTANCE: Bezoar formation in gastrointestinal tract is relatively a rare condition. A phytobezoar is the most common type of bezoar (Kement et al., 2012 [6]). Biliary phytobezoar is an extremely rare condition and is usually reported in patients had previous biliary procedures or in presence of bilioenteric fistula (Albogami et al., 2018; Kement et al., 2012; Kim et al., 2006 [2, 6, 7]). CASE PRESENTATION: 35-year-old female with sickle cell anemia (SCA). On 2003 she had gallstones (GS) and obstructive jaundice. She was treated at that time by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and sphincterotomy with stent insertion, followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Two years afterwards she had open appendectomy for acute appendicitis. Six months afterward, she suffered several episodes of small bowel obstructions (SBO) for several years. Later, it was discovered due to unusual formation of primary gallstones and subsequent development of biliary phytobezoars accumulated in the terminal ileum causing SBO. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: We are presenting an extremely rare case who developed biliary phytobezoars formation in the absence of a bilioenteric fistula leading to multiple small bowel obstructions. The origin of the gallstones was primary type. The surgical approach was limited right hemicolectomy solved her problem completely until the date of this publication. CONCLUSION: The nature of the disease adding higher risk of morbidity. Management of sicklers with surgical conditions should be individualized. Sicklers with asymptomatic gallstones should have early LC before complications begin. Because anticipated complications carry significant morbidity. The advances in surgical technology and better awareness of the pathophysiology provided an improved and better outcome.

Infrequent cause of small bowel obstruction in a child: A lemon.

Introduction: Small bowel obstruction in children induced by phytobezoar impaction is reported here. Bezoars are classified into four types: phytobezoars, trichobezoars, pharmacobezoars, and lactobezoars. We present here the first case of lemon shelves induced by small intestinal obstruction without previous gastrointestinal surgery and diagnosis was made erect abdominal x-ray. Case presentation: We present a case of a three-year-old boy who presented with a history of abdominal pain, distension, and bilious vomiting, for the preceding one week. The child had no previous history of gastric or intra-abdominal surgery. The definitive diagnosis was not known before the operation. The case was diagnosed at laparotomy and removed through a distal enterotomy. Clinical discusion: In surgical practice, small bowel obstruction is a prevalent problem. Phytobezoar is a rarely mentioned cause of mechanical small intestine obstruction, accounting for only 0.4-4% of all cases. The lemon shelves measuring 35 cm and 75 cm had impacted the terminal ileum of our patient, causing an obstruction that could only be discovered after an enterotomy as it was not feasible to be fragmented and milked into the cecum and an open appendectomy was performed because of the socio-economic reason. Conclusion: The total bowel obstruction is treated with both laparotomies and milking through the ileocecal junction or enterotomy and direct extraction.

Self-made wire loop snare successfully treats gastric persimmon stone under endoscopy.

BACKGROUND: Large gastric persimmon stones are generally resistant to standard endoscopic treatments. We applied an alternative endoscopic method using a hand-made snare for the treatment of large gastric phytobezoars. AIM: To explore the clinical efficacy of a self-made wire loop snare to treat giant gastric persimmon stones. METHODS: A retrospective study evaluated the clinical data of 38 patients with gastroliths admitted to Taihe Hospital in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, China, between March 2015 and October 2020. The patients were divided into observation (n = 23) and control (n = 15) groups. Patients in the observation group were treated with self-made wire loop snares for lithotripsy, and patients in the control group were treated with traditional foreign body forceps, snares, injection needles, and other tools. Successful stone removal, treatment time, and hospital stay were compared. RESULTS: The average operating time was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) in the observation group (53.4 min) than that in the control group (172.8 min). The average hospital stay of the observation group (5.4 d) was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) than that in the control group (10.3 d). Successful one-time treatment was significantly more frequent (P < 0.001) in the observation group (87%) than in the control group (7%). CONCLUSION: Self-made guidewire loop snares were successfully used to treat gastrolithiasis, and were significantly more effective than foreign body forceps, snares, and other traditional methods.

Impending perforation near ileocecal junction due to phytobezoar impaction and intraluminal polyp: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Bezoars and polyps are an uncommon cause of mechanical intestinal obstruction. There are four different kinds of bezoars: phytobezoars, made of vegetables and fibers; trichobezoars, resulting from the ingestion of hair and frequently an expression of psychiatric disorders; lactobezoars, which are formed of milk curd; and pharmacobezoars, caused by drugs and medications. Signs and symptoms classically vary from abdominal pain to constipation, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension. We present a rare case of impending perforation along with an intraluminal polyp near ileocecal junction due to phytobezoar impaction. CASE PRESENTATION: Our patient was a 59-year-old Sindhi female with a known history of interstitial lung disease and hypertension who presented to the emergency department with complaints of abdominal pain and constipation for 1 week, vomiting for 5 days, and abdominal distension for 2 days. After a preoperative examination and her failure to respond to conservative therapy, she was taken to the operating room for exploratory laparotomy. A hard intraluminal mass was suspected to be obstructing the small bowel at the site of impending perforation. This mass was a phytobezoar along with an intraluminal polyp. Resection of the affected segment was performed, followed by ileoileal anastomosis, and a drain was left. The patient was discharged 1 week later and was found to be well with no complaints at 3 weeks follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Early diagnosis of bezoars is important for early intervention and prevention of complications. Our case is unique as phytobezoar with intraluminal polyp is a rare clinical finding. Moreover, the signs and symptoms with which the patient presented are nonspecific and can be seen with multiple surgical emergencies.

Tannin-phytobezoars with Gastric Outlet Obstruction Treated by Dissolution with Administration and Endoscopic Injection of Coca-Cola®, Endoscopic Crushing, and Removal (with Video).

A 77-year-old man complained of postmeal vomiting and sustained general fatigue. An abdominal computed tomography scan showed massive gastric expansion and fluid storage. Gastroscopy revealed four gastric bezoars that were considered to have caused pyloric ring obstruction. The patient was asked to drink 500 mL per day of Coca-Cola® for 4 days. On the fourth day, we performed endoscopic crushing and removal by injecting Coca-Cola®, cutting the softened bezoar with endoscopic snares, and collecting the pieces with endoscopic nets. We herein report (with a video presentation) a rare case of tannin-phytobezoars endoscopically removed with the administration and injection of Coca-Cola®.

Intestinal Obstruction Secondary to Multiple Gastrointestinal phytobezoars, A Rare presentation.

INTRODUCTION: Intestinal obstruction considered to be one of the most common surgical presentation. Adhesions secondary to previous operations, hernias, neoplasms, inflammatory bowel disease, intussusception, or volvulus are the usual causes of intestinal obstruction but bezoar can presents in 0.4-4%. Bezoar can be trapped in different locations throughout the gastrointestinal tract and it can be solitary or multiple lesions. CASE PRESENTATION: This is a 37-year-old male, known case of diabetes mellitus, Presented to the Emergency Department complaining of generalized abdominal pain for 2 days duration. Associated with abdominal distention, fever, nausea, vomiting and obstipation. There was a history of persimmon intake. Unremarkable past surgical history. On examination, He was tachycardic, other vital signs were within normal. Abdominal examination showed abdominal distention and Sluggish bowel sound. Abdominal X-ray revealed multiple air-fluid levels. An abdominal CT scan with IV contrast revealed an intra-luminal mass in the ileum and intra-gastric mass with suspicious of bezoars. He underwent exploratory laparotomy, gastrostomy to remove intra-gastric bezoar, and enterotomy to remove the ileal bezoar. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Intestinal obstruction is considered to be the most common complication of this entity; other possible complications include gastric ulcer, gastritis, and gastric perforation. Due to limitations of endoscopy and barium enema in the diagnosis of bezoar, Abdominal CT-scan is considered to be the gold standard in the diagnosis. The management of phytobezoar can be either conservative or surgical, depends on the lesion size and location. CONCLUSION: Although intestinal obstruction secondary to bezoar is rare, multiple levels of gastrointestinal obstruction should raise the suspicion of bezoar.

Mango seed causing acute large bowel obstruction in descending colon-world's first reported case.

INTRODUCTION: Phytobezoars are a very rare cause of large bowel obstruction. Mango seeds as a phytobezoar causing large bowel obstruction have not been reported in the English literature. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We present the case of a 69 years old female who presented to us with clinical and radiological signs of acute large bowel obstruction. On laparotomy, it was noted that mango seeds as a phytobezoar was responsible for the obstruction in the descending colon. DISCUSSION: Phytobezoars are a rare but known cause of small bowel obstruction. Large bowel obstruction is even rarer. The literature has documented a few cases of small bowel obstruction caused by mango seeds but none for large bowel obstruction. The most frequent reported sites of large bowel obstruction are the sigmoid colon and recto-sigmoid junction. However, phytobezoar causing descending colonic obstruction without any pre-existing underlying pathology has not been reported. CONCLUSION: The association of bezoar with acute large bowel obstruction is a very rare however; it must be entertained in the differential diagnosis of any large bowel obstruction. Early diagnosis and treatment can avoid lethal complications. Our case being the first case of mango seeds phytobezoar in descending colon with acute large bowel obstruction; signifies its importance for reporting in the English literature.