Bouveret Syndrome, a rare presentation of biliary ileus: case report and literature review

Abstract

Billiary ileus is a rare complication of cholelithiasis or lithiasic cholecystitis, appearing in less than 1 to 3% of patients with these diseases, it is a mechanical intestinal obstruction due to the impaction of one or more gallstones within the gastrointestinal tract. Less common locations include the stomach and duodenum (Bouveret syndrome) and the colon. For the diagnosis of Bouveret's syndrome (BS) the initial step is usually a simple abdominal X-ray, while an abdominal ultrasound confirms Bouveret's syndrome if it reveals pneumobilia and ectopic location of the gallstone, in most cases a computed tomography (CT) scan is needed for diagnosis and for full evaluation. We present the case of a 57-year-old male who 8 days prior to his admission presented with moderate intensity abdominal pain in the epigastrium accompanied by heartburn, halitosis, nausea, vomiting, intolerance to oral intake and absence of evacuations; initially went to a gastroenterologist who performed upper digestive endoscopy, finding an image of obstruction at the level of the first portion of the duodenum, which is why he refers to the general surgery department where he underwent surgery, diagnosing BS by performing gastrotomy, stone extraction and pyloroplasty, presenting adequate postoperative evolution. BS is a rare diagnosis that affects <0.5% of patients with gallstones and therefore requires an extremely high degree of suspicion for the diagnosis and can be seen incidentally on imaging studies in patients with symptoms of obstruction of gastric emptying.