Small Bowel Obstruction in a Virgin Abdomen: A Case Report

Abstract

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a major cause of morbidity and financial burden in hospitals around the world. Foreign body (FB) ingestion as a cause is rare. While most cases are straight forward, some can be extremely subtle. We present a case of SBO caused by an undigested piece of pineapple core.

A Non-operative Approach of Small Bowel Obstruction in Virgin Abdomens

“…Gastrografin also known as diatrizoate [ 5 ] uses an iodinated, hyperosmotic, radiopaque contrast medium that leads to the resolution of adhesive SBO occasionally. There is not much research available on the success of the use of Gastrografin as a treatment for SBO-VA but since the latest consensus was to treat SBO-VA in a similar way as adhesive SBO, hence the use of Gastrografin seems to be justified.…”

Adhesive small bowel obstruction in a virgin abdomen in an elderly: a case report

“…SBO is a major cause of morbidity and financial burden in hospitals around the world. 3 Although adhesions account for more than 70% of SBO, they were thought to be less likely etiologies in patients without previous abdominal surgery. 11 Emerging evidence appears to challenge such a dogmatic approach as adhesions remain the most common cause of obstruction in patients despite the absence of prior abdominal surgery.…”

“…In contrast, developing countries etiology includes adhesions (34%), hernia (16%), malignancy (13.5%) and tuberculous stricture (10%). 3 Potential mimickers of SBO described in the literature include ACE-inhibitor related bowel angioedema, eosinophilic enteritis, and different infectious etiologies. 4 Intra-abdominal adhesions are abnormal connective tissue attachments between two or more peritoneal surfaces.…”