Evaluation of the location, number and diameter of bezoars in patients with a history of previous gastrointestinal surgery.

OBJECTIVE

Bezoars are foreign bodies developed due to the swallowing of indigestible substances in the stomach that accumulate in the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract. This study aimed to compare the location, size, and diameter of bezoars between patients with and without a history of previous gastrointestinal surgery and between operated and non-operated patients retrospectively.

METHODS

A total of 188 patients who presented to our gastroenterology clinic and in whom bezoar was suspected on clinical examination and the diagnosis confirmed through abdominal CT scans were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups; patients with a history of previous gastrointestinal surgery were assigned to Group 1 (n = 70), and those who had no history of previous surgery (n = 118) to Group 2.

RESULTS

The mean age was found as 56.16 ± 15.75 years in Group 1 and 57.71 ± 15.95 years in Group 2. The mean bezoar width was significantly higher in Group 1 (p = 0.049). The mean bezoar length was significantly higher in Group 1 (p = 0.004). Considering localization of bezoars, the rate of patients who underwent enterotomy (80%) was statistically significantly higher than the patients who underwent gastrotomy (23.50%), gastrotomy + milking (28.60%) and milking (44.70%) in the operations performed in the jejunum.

CONCLUSION

Bezoars are a rare cause of intestinal obstruction. The median width and length of the bezoars were significantly higher in patients with a history of previous gastric surgery. There was no significant difference in other parameters. The most common localization was jejunum.