Jewish Holiday “Tu Bishvat” or Two Cases of Small Bowel Obstruction with Dried Apricot

Abstract

Introduction: Small bowel obstruction caused by bezoars is rare. One of the causes of phytobezoars is dried fruits. We present two cases of small bowel obstruction caused by dried apricots during Jewish holiday “Tu BiShvat”. Case Presentation: Two men, 54 and 86 years old hospitalized with acute abdomen attributed to small bowel obstruction. In the first case - intoxicated patient, due to suspicion of mesenteric ischemia underwent laparotomy. A lead point caused obstruction was found and after enterotomy whole dried apricot was removed. The patient swallowed it whole three days before hospitalization. In the second case, edentulous patient with small bowel obstruction and peritonitis underwent laparotomy. The cause of obstruction was a dried apricot swallowed whole by the patient. Discussion: Presentation of bezoar with features of acute surgical abdomen is extremely rare, accounting for only 1% of the patients. The expansion of phytobezoar that is high in cellulose content can absorb a large amount of fluid causing an obstruction of the small bowel. The treatment of small bowel obstruction caused by bezoars varies from dissolving with cellulase, papain and even Coca-Cola, followed by endoscopic and surgical removal. Conclusion: A high level of suspicion needs to exist in the presence of a history of eating dried fruit, which can cause gastrointestinal obstruction. Especially on background gastric bypass surgery and inadequate mastication.