title: Colonic phytobezoar as a rare cause of large bowel obstruction.
abstract: Bezoars are masses formed by the concretion of stomach contents or debris within the gastrointestinal tract. Bezoars are rare and account for only 0.4-4% of all cases of gastrointestinal obstruction and mainly occur in the stomach or small intestine. Intestinal obstruction caused by colonic bezoars is extremely rare. We report a case of a distal sigmoid obstruction caused by a phytobezoar in a 60-year-old man with no obvious precipitating causes. He presented to the emergency department acutely unwell and a subsequent abdominal CT scan showed a mass within the proximal sigmoid colon suspicious for a bezoar. He proceeded to have an urgent laparotomy and the obstructive intraluminal mass in the sigmoid colon was identified and manually broken down. Subsequent histopathological assessment reported amorphous material and plant cellular matter consistent with the diagnosis of a phytobezoar.
authors: Division of Surgery, Lyell McEwin Hospital, Elizabeth Vale, South Australia, Australia.
authors: Gin Way
authors: GW
authors: Law
authors: Division of Surgery, Lyell McEwin Hospital, Elizabeth Vale, South Australia, Australia.
authors: Diwei
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4515-4145
authors: D
authors: Lin
authors: Division of Surgery, Lyell McEwin Hospital, Elizabeth Vale, South Australia, Australia.
authors: Rebecca
authors: R
authors: Thomas
mesh_terms: D001630:Bezoars / Q000150:complications*; D012809:Colon, Sigmoid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed