Self-made wire loop snare successfully treats gastric persimmon stone under endoscopy

BACKGROUND Large gastric persimmon stones are generally resistant to standard endoscopic treatments. We applied an alternative endoscopic method using a hand-made snare for the treatment of large gastric phytobezoars. AIM To explore the clinical efficacy of a self-made wire loop snare to treat giant gastric persimmon stones. METHODS A retrospective study evaluated the clinical data of 38 patients with gastroliths admitted to Taihe Hospital in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, China, between March 2015 and October 2020. The patients were divided into observation (n = 23) and control (n = 15) groups. Patients in the observation group were treated with self-made wire loop snares for lithotripsy, and patients in the control group were treated with traditional foreign body forceps, snares, injection needles, and other tools. Successful stone removal, treatment time, and hospital stay were compared. RESULTS The average operating time was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) in the observation group (53.4 min) than that in the control group (172.8 min). The average hospital stay of the observation group (5.4 d) was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) than that in the control group (10.3 d). Successful one-time treatment was significantly more frequent (P < 0.001) in the observation group (87%) than in the control group (7%). CONCLUSION Self-made guidewire loop snares were successfully used to treat gastrolithiasis, and were significantly more effective than foreign body forceps, snares, and other traditional methods.