Enterolith Small-Bowel Obstruction Caused by Crohn's Disease

Abstract

We herein report on the successful surgical treatment of Crohn's disease with enteroliths formed in the ileum. A 58-year-old man presented with abdominal colicky pain, and long-standing constipation. He was diagnosed as ileus due to enteroliths and was initially managed conservatively, but improvement was not observed either clinically or on radio imaging. We, therefore, performed a laparotomy, which revealed Crohn's disease with enteroliths in the ileum. Because the enteroliths in the ileum were not mobile and could not be broken manually, we carried out a segmental bowel resection with the removal of the enteroliths. The pathology report revealed Crohn's disease with enteroliths. Intestinal obstruction caused by enteroliths associated with Crohn's disease occurs rarely, and is difficult to be diagnosed and managed.