Idiopathic Sclerosing Encapsulating Peritonitis: A rare abdomen cocoon presentation

Background: Abdominal cocoon is characterized by small bowel encapsulation and is a rare cause of intestinal obstruction. Case report: We describe a young man who had recurrent subacute intestinal obstruction. On elective exploration of abdomen, the entire small bowel was found to be encapsulated inside a white dense fibrous sac. The peritoneal sac was excised, followed by lysis of the interloop adhesions. The outcome was satisfactory. Conclusions: The clinical diagnosis of abdominal cocoon requires a high index of suspicion because of the rarity, nonspecific clinical picture and often noncontributory imaging findings. Surgical treatment consists of peritoneal sac excision and adhesiolysis.