Acute pancreatitis and small bowel obstruction caused by a migratory gastric bezoar after dissolution therapy: A case report

Intestinal Obstruction Due to Reassembly after Endoscopic Crushing of a Bezoar

An 87-year-old woman visited her primary-care doctor because of nausea and epigastric pain. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed a giant bezoar in her stomach. She was referred to our hospital after carbonated beverage dissolution proved ineffective and underwent endoscopic mechanical crushing. After crushing, the symptoms disappeared, and she began eating. Later, however, the crushed fragments reassembled in the duodenal bulb and caused intestinal obstruction. The patient underwent emergency EGD for crushing once more, and all of the fragments were extracted from the body. This case highlights the need for bezoars to be removed from the body after crushing in order to avoid reassembly.

Self-made wire loop snare successfully treats gastric persimmon stone under endoscopy

BACKGROUND

Large gastric persimmon stones are generally resistant to standard endoscopic treatments. We applied an alternative endoscopic method using a hand-made snare for the treatment of large gastric phytobezoars.

AIM

To explore the clinical efficacy of a self-made wire loop snare to treat giant gastric persimmon stones.

METHODS

A retrospective study evaluated the clinical data of 38 patients with gastroliths admitted to Taihe Hospital in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, China, between March 2015 and October 2020. The patients were divided into observation (n = 23) and control (n = 15) groups. Patients in the observation group were treated with self-made wire loop snares for lithotripsy, and patients in the control group were treated with traditional foreign body forceps, snares, injection needles, and other tools. Successful stone removal, treatment time, and hospital stay were compared.

RESULTS

The average operating time was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) in the observation group (53.4 min) than that in the control group (172.8 min). The average hospital stay of the observation group (5.4 d) was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) than that in the control group (10.3 d). Successful one-time treatment was significantly more frequent (P < 0.001) in the observation group (87%) than in the control group (7%).

CONCLUSION

Self-made guidewire loop snares were successfully used to treat gastrolithiasis, and were significantly more effective than foreign body forceps, snares, and other traditional methods.

Tannin-phytobezoars with Gastric Outlet Obstruction Treated by Dissolution with Administration and Endoscopic Injection of Coca-Cola®, Endoscopic Crushing, and Removal (with Video)

A 77-year-old man complained of postmeal vomiting and sustained general fatigue. An abdominal computed tomography scan showed massive gastric expansion and fluid storage. Gastroscopy revealed four gastric bezoars that were considered to have caused pyloric ring obstruction. The patient was asked to drink 500 mL per day of Coca-Cola^® for 4 days. On the fourth day, we performed endoscopic crushing and removal by injecting Coca-Cola^®, cutting the softened bezoar with endoscopic snares, and collecting the pieces with endoscopic nets. We herein report (with a video presentation) a rare case of tannin-phytobezoars endoscopically removed with the administration and injection of Coca-Cola^®.

Successful laparoscopic extraction of trichobezoar due to Rapunzel syndrome: first reported case in Kuwait

Rapunzel syndrome is a rare condition typically found in young female patients with mental or psychiatric disorders. It manifests as a large trichobezoar extending beyond the pylorus into the small intestine and leads to various adverse conditions. Early diagnosis and prompt management are crucial to avoiding complications. These bezoars are extracted endoscopically, laparoscopically and via open surgery (most common). In this current report, we discuss a successful laparoscopic extraction of a trichobezoar in a 12-year-old girl with acute abdominal pain due to small-bowel obstruction. We describe our technique compared with others' techniques and include a literature review on this topic.