Small bowel obstruction due to Roux-en-Y enterolith 13 years following deceased donor liver transplantation: a case report

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a progressive, cholestatic liver disease, and liver transplantation (LT) is considered the only therapeutic option for patients with end-stage liver disease secondary to PSC. Intestinal obstruction in adults after LT surgery is a rare complication with diverse clinical presentations. The most common etiology is intestinal adhesions, but this can also result from other rare causes such as enterolith. We describe the first case report of small bowel obstruction secondary to biliary stone formation in the common limb of Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy 13 years after the deceased donor LT. The patient failed initial conservative management and developed peritonitis, requiring urgent surgical exploration to remove the enterolith and resect the involved small bowel. In conclusion, small bowel obstructions due to enteroliths are unusual clinical complications following LT, which require a high degree of suspicion in patients who develop a bowel obstruction in the setting of a previous hepaticojejunostomy.