Case Report
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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2013; 19(33): 5586-5589
Published online Sep 7, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i33.5586
Gallstone ileus: Case report and literature review
Xin-Zheng Dai, Guo-Qiang Li, Feng Zhang, Xue-Hao Wang, Chuan-Yong Zhang
Xin-Zheng Dai, Guo-Qiang Li, Feng Zhang, Xue-Hao Wang, Chuan-Yong Zhang, Liver Transplantation Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Key Laboratory of Living Donor Liver Transplantation, Ministry of Public Health, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Dai XZ and Li GQ contributed equally to this work; Dai XZ and Zhang CY designed the report; Dai XZ and Li GQ were attending doctors for the patients; Dai XZ, Li GQ and Zhang CY performed the surgical operation; Zhang F and Wang XH performed imaging diagnosis; Zhang CY organized the report; Dai XZ wrote the paper.
Supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81070380, to Li GQ; and Fund Industry of The Ministry of Health, No. 201302009, to Li GQ
Correspondence to: Chuan-Yong Zhang, PhD, Liver Transplantation Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Key Laboratory of Living Donor Liver Transplantation, Ministry of Public Health, Gulou District, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China. zhangchuanyong@njmu.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-25-83718836 Fax: +86-25-83718836
Received: April 28, 2013
Revised: June 3, 2013
Accepted: July 18, 2013
Published online: September 7, 2013
Processing time: 133 Days and 21.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: We present the case of a 56-year-old female who presented at our institution with symptoms of bowel obstruction. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) and exploratory laparotomy revealed a large gallstone in the terminal ileus. She underwent enterolithotomy and had an uneventful postoperative course. The literature suggests that gallstone ileus (GI) is a rare condition affecting mainly the older population and has a female predominance. CT and magnetic resonance imaging have made it easier to diagnose GI. Enterotomy with stone extraction alone remains the most common surgical method because of its low incidence of complications.