Proctalgia and colorectal stricture as the result of a 2-year transit of a retained rectal chicken bone: a case presentation and review of the literature

Summary

We report a case of a 70-year-old woman who presented with progressively increasing intensity of lower abdominal, pelvic and rectal pain of 3-day duration. She had similar symptoms intermittently over the preceding 2 years. CT of the abdomen and pelvis revealed the presence of a 3.8×0.4 cm linear foreign body in the colorectal region. History obtained from relatives recalled inadvertent ingestion of a chicken bone 2 years prior to presentation. Trials of foreign body retrieval, both manually and via rigid and flexible sigmoidoscopy, however, were unsuccessful due to the presence of obstruction by a circumferential rectal stricture. Consequently, an exploratory laparotomy was performed, with segmental resection of 17 cm of rectum and distal sigmoid. Dissection of the strictured segment revealed the presence of a chicken bone. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course, was discharged and is to continue following up on an outpatient basis.