Small bowel obstruction due to a meat bolus bezoar: the second case report in literature

Small bowel obstruction is a difficult emergency condition that may be caused due to many factors. However, bezoar-induced small bowel obstruction accounts for only 0.4-4.8% of all intestinal impaction patients. Bezoars are an entity of undigested materials classified into four types: phytobezoar, trichobezoar, pharmacobezoar, lactobezoar. Meat bolus bezoar is not named under any of these classifications.

A 75-year-old man presented with abdominal distention, vomiting, and constipation. On radiological imaging, a mass in the terminal ileum was detected. After 2 days of ineffective conservative therapy, the authors decided to perform an open surgery. Enterotomy approach was chosen after failing to milk the object into the colons. The foreign body impacting the bowels was identified as a meat bolus bezoar. The patient improved after the surgery. The authors recorded no recurrence or complications with our patient after 18 months of follow-up.

Patients with small bowel obstruction usually present with acute abdominal pain and distension despite the blockage cause. Computed tomography is the most effective diagnostic tool in such cases. In bezoar-induced intestinal blockage, surgical management is mandatory if conservative therapy fails.

It is important to consider bezoar-induced small bowel obstruction as a potential cause of impaction in cases of acute abdominal pain accompanied with risk factors of bezoar formation, despite the bezoar type.