The Successful Medical Management of a Phytobezoar

Abstract

It has been our contention that an obvious discrepancy exists between the number of persons who eat persimmons and the occasional case of bezoar which produces distressing symptoms. This is especially true in an area indigenous to persimmon ingestion, such as Kansas, Oklahoma, and southern Nebraska. It is the usual procedure to institute surgical intervention when a patient has severe distress resulting from a persimmon bezoar. This observation stimulated our interest, and so a case of persimmon bezoar was placed on medical management and then followed serially for radiological proof of elimination of the last remnant of the bezoar. The method of treatment and its effect upon persimmons was studied in vivo as well as in vitro. The results suggest that a case of bezoar detected early may be amenable to medical management. Report of Case A 72-year-old white woman was admitted to The Menorah Medical Center on Oct. 28,