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Case Reports
. 2020 Jun 3;12(6):e8427.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.8427.

Jejunal Enterolith: A Rare Case of Small Bowel Obstruction

Chantal Patel  1 , Ravivarma Balasubramaniam  2 , Timothy Bullen  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Jejunal Enterolith: A Rare Case of Small Bowel Obstruction

Chantal Patel et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Small bowel obstruction is a common operative finding following an acute surgical admission. However, small bowel obstruction due to an enterolith is a rarer finding. Enteroliths are formed in conditions contributing to hypomotility and stasis within the gastrointestinal tract. These include Crohn's disease, strictures, and intestinal diverticulae. We present a case of small bowel obstruction due to an enterolith in an 89-year-old female. In our case, CT identified an inflamed jejunal diverticulum pre-operatively.

Keywords: enterolith; jejunal diverticulosis; small bowel obstruction.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Axial CT image of an inflammed jejunal diverticulum (arrowhead). This is likely to be the originating site of the obstructing enterolith. The arrows highlight features of acute inflammation with wall thickening and surrounding mesenteric inflammatory stranding.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Dilated fluid-filled small bowel loops in keeping with a high-grade mechanical small bowel obstruction. Note the normal appearances of the gallbladder (arrows) and biliary tree that do not contain any gas (pneumobilia), which helps exclude the main differential of gallstone ileus.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Axial CT image showing an obstructing enterolith (arrows) that has likely migrated from its original location in the inflamed jejunal diverticulum (see Figure 1) and now appears lodged in a loop of mid-small bowel.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Coronal CT image showing the enterolith causing a high-grade mechanical bowel obstruction. This image demonstrates collapsed small bowel distal to the transition point (arrows).
Figure 5
Figure 5. The enterolith was approximately 4 cm in diameter. It was identified and extracted intraoperatively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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