Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2025

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation via Colonoscopy for Recurrent C. difficile Infection
Published on: December 8, 2014
Rare case of fecaloma requiring endoscopic intervention in a 24-year-old female
Zamaan Hooda1, Sabrina Clare Higgins1, Dakota Pastore1
1Department of Surgery, St. Joseph's University Medical Center, 703 Main Street, Paterson, NJ 07503, United States.
Abstract:
Fecalomas are a rare potential etiology for constipation experienced in children and the elderly. Large bowel obstructions due to fecalomas are preferably treated conservatively with laxatives and bowel rest. However, in the setting of severe corporostasis, more invasive procedures are required to prevent bowel ischemia and perforation. This case report describes a patient who presented to the emergency department with symptoms of large bowel obstruction and constipation, and she was found to have a fecaloma. Conservative interventions, including bowel rest and the administration of laxatives failed, prompting the need for more invasive therapies. During her admission, multiple flexible sigmoidoscopies were required to alleviate the obstruction. Ultimately, this case demonstrates an encounter of a patient with a sigmoid fecaloma from an unlikely demographic with few risk factors that required endoscopic intervention for treatment.
Related Concept Videos
Endoscopic Procedures IV: Sigmoidoscopy and Laproscopy
Sigmoidoscopy
Sigmoidoscopy is a diagnostic procedure that uses a flexible sigmoidoscope equipped with a light source and camera to examine the rectum and sigmoid colon. The procedure involves inserting the tube through the anus...
Endoscopic Procedures III: Video Capsule Endoscopy
Inflammatory Bowel Disease V: Surgical Management
Here are some common surgical interventions for IBD:
Endoscopic Procedures II: Colonoscopy

