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Updated: Nov 30, 2025

Murine Ileocolic Bowel Resection with Primary Anastomosis
Published on: October 29, 2014
'Ball valve' small bowel obstruction caused by a large caecal faecolith
S Sharma1, T Majeed1, J Solomon1
1Department of General Surgery, Wirral University Teaching Hospital, Upton, Wirral, UK.
Abstract:
Small bowel obstruction is a common surgical presentation, but intestinal faecoliths are rarely reported as a cause. A 75-year-old woman presented with small bowel obstruction from a large faecolith lodged in the caecum. This required removal at laparoscopy-assisted surgery. This case highlights the need to deal promptly with symptomatic intestinal faecoliths as they are unlikely to pass spontaneously and are prone to cause acute obstruction.
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