Giant fecaloma mimicking large tumor of the abdomen: A case report

Abstract Fecaloma represents an accumulation of hard feces most often in the rectum but rarely in the sigmoid colon. Constipation plays an important role in the development of fecal impaction and incontinence primarily in elderly and institutionalized adults. However, it sometimes causes abdominal distension that mimics an abdominal tumor. We present a case of 54-year-old male with epilepsy and mental retardation, bedridden with paraplegia and chronic pulmonary disease who was admitted to the emergency department with complaints of chronic constipation and a distended abdomen, breathing difficulties, and the inability to defecate. An abdominal CT scan showed a giant mass in his lower abdomen and pelvis that mimicked a large tumor. The patient`s condition deteriorated and he died of comorbidities. A subsequent autopsy revealed a large 30 × 21 × 18 cm fecaloma in his recto-sigmoid colon. We believe that this case is one of the largest fecaloma ever reported in the English-language literature.