2024 Volume 60 Issue 5 Pages 820-825
The patient was an 8-month-old boy with no history of surgery. On day 1 of his feeling ill, he presented to a clinic with frequent vomiting. On day 2, owing to the worsening of his symptoms, he was admitted to the pediatric department of our hospital for gastroenteritis. However, on day 3, bilious vomiting was observed, and he was referred to our department. An abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan revealed bowel obstruction with ascites, and an emergency exploratory laparotomy was performed. Intraoperative findings showed obstruction mechanisms in the small intestine due to two gastrointestinal foreign bodies. One was located in the jejunum 100 cm distal to the ligament of Treitz and the other was located in the jejunum 10 cm distal to it. All of them were removed. The postoperative course was uneventful, and he was discharged on the 8th postoperative day. Analysis revealed that the foreign bodies were superabsorbent resin material products. Although there are no reports of intestinal obstruction caused by multiples of these products in Japan, there are some reports abroad that included reoperations, which were required due to residual products. It is important to understand the characteristics of superabsorbent polymer and to completely remove all foreign bodies at the first surgery.
