Abstract
Gallstone ileus is a rare presentation, accounting for 0.1% of cases of mechanical small bowel obstruction. Patients are often elderly with significant comorbidity. Treatment is based upon laparotomy and enterolithotomy. We present the case of a 75year old lady admitted as an emergency with a 4day history of small bowel obstruction. She was found on CT scan to have an impacted gallstone in the distal ileum. At operation, her impacted stone was removed through a proximal enterostomy. The stone however was found to have a squared off edge, raising the suspicion of a second fragment within the proximal small bowel lumen. Failure to retrieve this could have led to re-obstruction requiring a return to theatre and repeat laparotomy in an elderly patient with the associated morbidity.
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