Background: Bezoars are an uncommon cause of mechanical intestinal occlusion. There are four different kinds of bezoars: phytobezoars, made of vegetables and fibers; trichobezoars, resulting from the ingestion of hair and frequently an expression of psychiatric disorders; lactobezoars, which are formed of milk curd; and pharmacobezoars, caused by drugs and medications. Symptoms are classically indistinguishable from one another and from more common causes of intestinal occlusion, so it can be difficult to establish a correct diagnosis in order to apply the correct treatment. We present a rare case of two different phytobezoars causing intestinal occlusion (gastric and jejunal). We also describe the correct techniques for making a correct and fast diagnosis of occlusion caused by phytobezoars, and the possible conservative and operative treatments.
Case presentation: We present the case of a double phytobezoar that was surgically treated with a double enterotomy. Our patient was a 68-year-old Caucasian man with a medical history of hypertension, a previous open appendectomy, and open repair of a perforated gastric ulcer. He was admitted with a 5-day history of abdominal pain located in his upper quadrants along with vomiting. After a preoperative examination, he was taken to the operating room. He was discharged in a good clinical condition 11 days after surgical intervention. A physical examination at 6 months demonstrated our patient was in good health.
Conclusions: Diagnosing bezoars is difficult because of their rarity. However, they must be taken into consideration in a differential diagnosis because their treatment is not always surgical. In fact, it may be conservative in many cases and a correct diagnosis will guide towards the correct therapy.
Keywords: Bezoars; Enterotomy; Gastrostomy; Phytobezoars; Small bowel obstruction.