Man suffers bowel necrosis due to ceramic cup in rectum

A ceramic cup, 6 cm in diameter and 8 cm tall, was deeply lodged in a man's large intestine for three days, causing him severe pain, partial bowel necrosis, and requiring a temporary colostomy.

On 20/11, Doctor Ngo Khon Dat from Lee General Hospital in Taichung stated that the on-call team had successfully performed emergency surgery on a middle-aged male patient. The patient arrived at the hospital suffering from severe abdominal pain, bloating, and an inability to defecate for three days. An X-ray revealed a foreign object: an inverted ceramic cup lodged deep in his rectum.

Doctor Ngo Khon Dat surgically removed the cup that was inserted into a patient's rectum in Taichung city. Photo: Zhang Xuanzhe

The cup's substantial size and smooth surface presented significant challenges for the medical team. Initially, the team attempted to extract the foreign object rectally using specialized instruments but failed due to the cup's slippery nature. An alternative approach, using an abdominal endoscope to assist in pushing the object, was also deemed unfeasible. The cup was too tightly wedged, and there was a high risk of it breaking, which could cause more severe internal injuries. Ultimately, doctors decided on open bowel surgery to remove the object.

After more than two hours of surgery, the team safely removed the cup. However, prolonged compression by the foreign object caused ischemia, leading to necrosis in a segment of the patient's bowel. Doctors had to resect the damaged section of the bowel and perform a temporary colostomy to aid the patient's excretion during his recovery.

Upon regaining consciousness after the operation, the man appeared confused and did not clearly explain how the foreign object entered his body, stating only that the incident occurred "accidentally."

Doctor Ngo warned that inserting foreign objects into the rectum to seek unusual sensations carries significant risks. This practice can easily dilate the anal sphincter, leading to fecal incontinence. More severely, it can cause bowel perforation, peritonitis, or abdominal infection, which can be fatal. Lee General Hospital has previously treated many similar cases involving foreign objects such as baseballs, vibrators, or even coconuts.