Gastric phytobezoars as a very unusual cause of gastric outlet obstruction

• Main Authors: Elham Tabesh, Amin Dehghan, Marzieh Tahmasebi, Niloofar Javadi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2021-01-01
• Series: Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
• Subjects: bezoars; case report; gastric outlet obstruction; gastric phytobezoars; laparotomy
• Online Access: http://www.jmsjournal.net/article.asp?issn=1735-1995;year=2021;volume=26;issue=1;spage=25;epage=25;aulast=Tabesh

Bezoars are collections of indigestible foreign material found in the gastrointestinal tract. Phytobezoars are the most common among the types of bezoars. Treatment of phytobezoars is categorized into four types: chemical dissolution, endoscopic removal, adjuvant prokinetics, and surgery. Complications from phytobezoars can include gastric outlet obstruction (GOO), ileus, ulcerations, gastrointestinal bleeding, and perforation. Herein, we present an 86-year-old woman with refractory postprandial vomiting. Then, exploratory laparotomy was performed and the diagnosis was gastric phytobezoar. Phytobezoars-induced GOO is rare and its diagnosis is still a challenge.