Abstract
A 73-year-old man was admitted to our hospital due to ileus. Since he underwent laparotomy 40 years previously, he has had repeated ileus. About 6 months ago, results of a screening blood test indicated liver dysfunction. Although abdominal CT demonstrated no remarkable abnormality, he has been followed and was taking UDCA. On admission, abdominal CT and small bowel contrast radiography demonstrated a movable mass (about 40 mm) with a smooth surface in the ileum. For diagnosis and endoscopic treatment, we performed double balloon endoscopy (DBE). DBE demonstrated annular stenosis with erosion and an enterolith at about 150 cm proximal from the Bauhin valve. We performed endoscopic lithotomy using a snare and successfully removed the enterolith. The stone consisted of bile acid and was compatible with a true enterolith. As most cases of enterolith have undergone surgery, there have been few reports of a small bowel enterolith successfully removed by DBE. We consider that endoscopic therapy with DBE may be a non-surgical alternative to surgery for an enterolith.
