Malignant Large Bowel Obstruction Masquerading as Benign Inflammatory Disease in a Young Male: A Cautionary Tale of Diagnostic Delay

We present the case of a 35-year-old male with an acute large bowel obstruction (LBO) secondary to a sigmoid mass, which was proximally diverted with a loop colostomy at an outside hospital. The mass could not be resected, and tissue could not be obtained for pathological diagnosis because of ongoing concerns about infection. Ultimately, the patient was found to have a frozen, hostile abdomen, and a palliative percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube was placed for venting. We discuss surgical management options, pathology, and a brief review of the literature.