Phytobezoar impaction in a Meckel's diverticulum; a rare cause of bowel obstruction: Case report and review of literature.

INTRODUCTION

Meckel's diverticulum is the most common anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract, occurring in 1-3% of the general population. The most common complication of Meckel's diverticulum is intestinal obstruction. In this report, we describe a rare cause of intestinal obstruction due to Meckel's; the phytobezoar. After thorough literature review, the authors found about ten individual reports of the same topic. In all these cases, diagnosis was established intra-operatively.

CASE PRESENTATION

A forty-seven-year old male presented to the emergency department with a one-day history of abdominal pain associated with vomiting and constipation. Physical examination diagnostic tests revealed features of intestinal obstruction.

DISCUSSION

The lifetime risk of complications in patients with a Meckel'sdiverticulum is usually small and occurs only in up to 4%. In adults' intestinal obstruction is the most common complication (40%).

CONCLUSION

Complicated Meckel's diverticulum can have different clinical presentations and can cause bowel obstruction. An association with bezoars impaction is possible and it should be suspected in adult patients presenting with bowel obstruction of unknown causes especially those with high vegetarian diet.