Intestinal Obstruction Caused by Persimmon Bezoar: A Case Report

Owing to their rare occurrence, persimmon bezoars are often overlooked as a cause of small bowel obstruction. We herein report a small bowel obstruction in a 67-year-old Japanese female who regularly consumed persimmons in autumn. The patient presented to our hospital with typical complaints of abdominal distension with pain for 2 days. Based on the patient's history of a cesarean section 34 years ago, we initially diagnosed her with small bowel obstruction resulting from adhesions and placed an ileus tube. At first, the patient rejected the operation in spite of our recommendation. After 10 days, because the ileus tube was unable to relieve the obstruction, finally surgery was scheduled. Upon releasing the obstruction by partial resection of the small bowel, we found an impacted bezoar without any evidence of adhesions. After stone analysis, we first realized her regular persimmon intake. This case serves as an important reminder to obtain dietary history in order to investigate all possible causes of small bowel obstruction when intestinal obstruction is suspected.