Introduction: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor is the most frequent mesenchymal tumor in the digestive tract, causing bleeding and obstruction, with an incidence of 10 to 20 cases per million inhabitants. The prevalence is higher, due to the long clinical course of the disease. Objective: To present an unusual case of elective surgery, with a gastrointestinal digestive stromal tumor, operated on in the general surgery service. Clinical case: A 57-year-old male patient who consulted for abdominal pain in the mesogastrium, accompanied by late postprandial vomiting, weight loss and recurrent episodes of bicolor digestive bleeding, was admitted electively and studied. Surgery was performed with the presumptive diagnosis of abdominal tumor. During the laparotomy, a 14 by 20-centimeter tumor that compromises the lumen of the small intestine is found; it is decided to perform extraction of the tumor and a conventional end-to-end anastomosis. The patient was discharged after eight days with a favorable evolution and pending histopathological result, which reported a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Conclusions: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are rare as a cause of elective surgery in general surgery services.