Foreign bodies in the sigmoid colon of a psychiatric patient following self-mutilation: a case report

BACKGROUND: The act of deliberate injury to one's own body without the help of others is a well-known phenomenon in psychiatric patients. Insertion of foreign bodies into one or more orifices is not uncommon but insertion into a body cavity or the gastrointestinal tract by self-inflicted injury is quite rare. CASE PRESENTATION: A 32-year-old Ethiopian psychiatric patient presented with left lower abdominal pain of three months' duration following the insertion of foreign bodies via a self-inflicted wound in the left lower quadrant of his abdomen. Radiological evaluation demonstrated the presence of foreign bodies. A laparotomy revealed two metallic and three wooden materials in his sigmoid colon and a hole in his sigmoid that was tightly sealed with omentum. The foreign bodies were successfully removed, the hole was closed primarily, and our patient was discharged uneventfully. CONCLUSIONS: This case illustrates that a foreign body can be inserted into the colon through a self-inflicted wound in psychiatric patients, and patients may present months later without having developed generalized peritonitis.