Systematic review: Coca-Cola can effectively dissolve gastric phytobezoars as a first-line treatment

Phytobezoar: a rare cause of small bowel obstruction

Phytobezoar is an unusual cause of small bowel obstruction. It accounts for about 0.4%-4% of all mechanical bowel obstruction. However, the symptoms are not very different from those caused by usual aetiologies of small bowel obstruction. The commonest site of obstruction is terminal ileum. Treatment of small bowel obstruction due to Phytobezoar is surgery. Prevention includes avoidance of high fibre diet, prokinetics particularly in patients who have undergone gastric surgery. A 57-year-old male presented with symptoms and signs of small bowel obstruction. On exploratory laparotomy Phytobezoar in the ileum was found to be the cause of obstruction. Diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology.

A case of small bowel obstruction due to phytobezoars

Approximately 2-4 per cent of small bowel obstructions (SBO) are caused by bezoars. In addition, presentation with features of acute surgical abdomen is extremely rare, accounting for only 1% of the patients. A bezoar is a concretion of indigestible material found in the gastrointestinal tract, which usually forms in the stomach and passes into the small bowel, where it can cause SBO. We present the case of a 63-year-old male who presented with SBO following ingestion of boiled olive leaves as herbal treatment for diabetes mellitus.