Intermittent small bowel obstruction by jejunal enteroliths in a patient with a Crohn's disease stricture

Small bowel obstruction is most frequently due to postoperative or inflammatory adhesions, intestinal neoplasms, hernias, or bezoars. Intermittent small bowel obstruction may be secondary to a Crohn's disease stricture or to chronic adhesive peritonitis. Enterolithiasis, usually associated with jejunal diverticulosis or with a Meckel diverticulum, should be considered in patients who have not previously undergone abdominal surgical procedures. X-ray evidence of stones in the abdominal field, outside the common sites, i.e. gallbladder, kidney, bladder, should suggest a diagnosis of enterolithiasis. The authors report a case of multiple enteroliths in a patient with a segmental ileal stricture and ulcerations (diagnosed as Crohn's disease) causing frequent, intermittent occlusive symptoms, treated by segmental ileal resection.