Bizarre metal bezoar: a case report

Bezoars are uncommon findings in the gastrointestinal tract and are composed of a wide variety of materials. Large metal bezoars are very rare with only a few case reports till date in literature. We report a case of a metal bezoar in a man with Maniac Depressive Psychosis who had a history of ingesting Nails and screws of sizes varying from 2 cm to 15 cm for more than 1 year without causing any perforation and other acute complication.

A 24-year-old man presented with a history of mild dull aching type of abdominal pain of chronic onset and no other GI symptoms. The patient had history of passing small sized nails in the stools and intermittent melena for last 1 year. Physical examination revealed mild tenderness in Para umbilical region. Past medical history was remarkable for treatment of Maniac depressive psychosis. Plain radio graphs revealed objects of metal density contained within a dilated stomach at the level of L2-3 vertebrae in the midline. Celiotomy was performed and 27 metal nails and screws of sizes 6 cm to 15 cm and bent in various shapes were removed from inside the stomach. Post operatively patient recovery was normal and he was referred to psychiatrist.

Abdominal pain in patients with psychiatric disorders can result from rare causes such as bezoars and such bizarre metal nails without causing any acute abdominal symptoms. This report alerts surgeons to rule out bezoars in the differential diagnosis of chronic abdominal pain and melenic stools with no abdominal symptoms in patients with psychiatric health problems.