Gallstone ileus

Characterization of Bouveret's syndrome: a comprehensive review of 128 cases

AIM

The aim of the study was to characterize the clinical presentation, evaluation, and therapy of Bouveret's syndrome, by comprehensively reviewing all the identified previously reported cases, to facilitate early diagnosis and thereby to improve the prognosis.

METHODS

Relevant articles were identified by MEDLINE computerized searches, by consultation with all available reference books, and by review of the first author's teaching files. A new case in which the diagnosis of Bouveret's syndrome was missed at esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD)--despite endoscopic findings of gastric outlet obstruction caused by a hard, nonfleshy, and convex pyloric mass--prompted this review.

RESULTS

Review of 128 reported cases identified syndromic characteristics. Patients on average were 74.1 +/- 11.1 (SD) yr old. The female-to-male sex ratio was 1.86. Prominent symptoms were nausea and vomiting in 87%, abdominal pain in 71%, hematemesis in 15%, recent weight loss in 14%, and anorexia in 13% of patients. Prominent signs were abdominal tenderness in 44%, signs of dehydration in 31%, and abdominal distention in 26% of patients. Endoscopy revealed gastroduodenal obstruction in nearly all cases, but identified the obstructing stone in only 69%. Abdominal ultrasound or computerized tomography was diagnostic in about 60% of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

The following endoscopic findings are suggestive of Bouveret's syndrome: a dilated stomach containing old digested food from gastrointestinal obstruction together with a hard and nonfleshy mass at the obstruction. These endoscopic findings, in the setting of the currently reported characteristic epidemiologic and clinical findings, should strongly suggest this syndrome. Abdominal ultrasound or computerized tomography is recommended to confirm and extend the endoscopic diagnosis.

Bouveret's Syndrome Presenting as Upper Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage without Hematemesis

A 74-year-old woman with a recent diagnosis of peptic ulcer disease diagnosed by endoscopy after presentation with an episode of upper gastrointestinal bleeding returned 6½ weeks later with a 5-day history of nausea and vomiting without associated symptoms. An ultrasound was nondiagnostic except for a large gallstone and a poorly visualized gallbladder. Repeat endoscopy revealed a hard mass that was presumed to have formed secondarily to an ulcer-induced stricture, and a 6-cm filling defect just proximal to the duodenal bulb was seen on a preoperative upper gastrointestinal series. At laparotomy the mass was actually a large gallstone and two smaller stones, which had eroded into and become impacted in the duodenal bulb creating a gastric outlet obstruction. The stones were extracted via a duodenotomy, and the remaining portion of the gallbladder was removed with repair of the cholecystoduodenal fistula. The patient was discharged home after an uncomplicated postoperative course. Gastric outlet obstruction by a duodenal gallstone is a condition known as Bouveret's syndrome, which is a rare complication of gallstone disease. Upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage is an especially rare form of presentation.

Gallstone ileus

Thirty-seven patients (33 women and four men, median age 78 years) were operated on for gallstone ileus over a 12-year period with a median follow-up of 6.2 years. Twenty-three patients (62 per cent) had serious concomitant diseases. Plain abdominal radiographs performed at admission were diagnostic in only 17 patients (46 per cent) and other procedures such as ultrasonography, gastrointestinal contrast studies and computed tomographic scan were required in ten patients (27 per cent). The diagnosis was made before operation in 27 patients (73 per cent) but in only 17 (46 per cent) at admission. Obstructing stones were located in the terminal ileum in 27 patients (73 per cent), in the proximal ileum or jejunum in five (14 per cent), in the duodenum in two (5 per cent), and in the colon in three (8 per cent). In six instances (16 per cent), more than one stone was involved. Cholecystduodenal fistula was the most frequent fistula type (n = 25, 68 per cent), followed by cholecystcolonic (n = 2, 5 per cent) and cholecystduodenocolonic (n = 2, 5 per cent) types. The site of the fistula was not established in the other eight instances. A one-stage procedure consisting of the removal of the impacted stone, fistula repair and cholecystectomy was performed in eight patients, two of whom died. A second group of six patients underwent a two-stage procedure consisting of enterolithotomy followed by elective biliary surgery, with no mortality. Removal of impacted stones was the only surgical treatment in the remaining 23 patients, with five deaths. Operative mortality and morbidity rates associated with the initial procedure did not differ significantly among the three therapeutic groups, which were comparable in terms of patient age, associated concomitant diseases and APACHE II score. However, later biliary complications were prominent in patients treated only by enterolithotomy. These results support the view that a one-stage procedure is, when feasible, a valid option and may be the procedure of choice. When local or surgical conditions argue against a one-stage procedure, biliary surgery at a second stage should be considered, if residual stones are present. In poor risk patients, non-operative methods should be considered.