A woman suffered intestinal obstruction after eating pickled persimmons.

On November 30, doctors at E Hospital successfully intervened for a female patient (45 years old, Phu Ninh, Phu Tho) with intestinal obstruction due to food residue from pickled persimmons.

Doctors visit patients after surgery. (Source: E Hospital)

Doctors performed a gastroscopy and unexpectedly discovered four large egg-sized food masses in the patient's stomach, three of which were 4-6cm in diameter and one unusually large mass with a diameter of over 7cm.

Master Vu Hong Anh - Head of the Department of Functional Exploration - Endoscopy, said that the HTS patient was hospitalized with abdominal pain and a hard mass was felt in the abdomen.

In nearly 2 hours, the doctors performed endoscopic intervention to cut and completely remove 3 food debris blocks.

Food residue in patient's intestine. (Source: E Hospital)

For the large mass of food residue with a diameter of over 7cm remaining in the patient's stomach, the doctors decided to perform another intervention to avoid affecting the patient's health.

The food residue removed this time contained many pieces of fiber from the soaked persimmon that the patient had eaten earlier.

Patient S. said that a few days ago, she ate 3 large pickled persimmons when she was hungry. A few hours after eating, the patient experienced abdominal pain, vomiting, felt a hard mass in her abdomen, and had poor appetite. Her family took her to a local medical facility for examination and she was diagnosed with a suspected abdominal tumor.

She was transferred to K Hospital for treatment. However, this patient went to E Hospital and was examined by doctors, diagnosed with intestinal obstruction due to 4 food debris masses, and endoscopic intervention was indicated.

The patient's health is now stable and he will be discharged in the next few days.

According to Dr. Hong Anh, intestinal obstruction due to food debris is common in the elderly and children, but recently it has begun to appear in adults (young adults), causing the number of patients hospitalized for treatment to increase.

Previously, E Hospital treated a female patient (23 years old, a student at a university in Hanoi) who had intestinal obstruction due to a mass of food residue stuck together after eating too much dried bamboo shoots.

Doctors at E Hospital said that food residue often forms when foods contain a lot of tannin such as persimmons, green mangoes, guavas... and foods contain a lot of fibrous residue such as bamboo shoots... Pay special attention to the time of eating. If you eat when hungry, your stomach is empty, the HCl concentration is high, fruits with a lot of fiber and resin are easily precipitated, causing the plant fibers to stick together, forming a solid residue. In addition, the habit of eating too quickly and not chewing thoroughly is one of the causes leading to the risk of intestinal obstruction due to food residue.

Doctors warn that if not treated promptly, intestinal obstruction due to food residue stagnation can cause complications such as intestinal necrosis, intestinal perforation, peritonitis, infection, systemic poisoning... leading to death.

Therefore, to prevent the risk of creating a mass of food in the digestive tract, people need to pay attention to how the elderly eat: food must be cooked, stewed.../.

According to Vietnam+