Surgical removal of a tea spoon from the ascending colon, ten years after ingestion: a case report

INTRODUCTION: The presentation of ingested foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal system is common in the emergency setting. The majority responds to conservative management and passes spontaneously; however, giant foreign bodies pose a management difficulty. We report a peculiar case of a giant foreign body (spoon) that presented very late after ingestion and the management of this presentation. CASE PRESENTATION: A 30-year-old British white male barrister presented with abdominal pain 10 years after he swallowed a spoon that never passed spontaneously. His workup revealed the spoon lodged in his ascending colon. Laparoscopic retrieval was not feasible so a laparotomy was done for retrieval. He did well and went home with no complications. CONCLUSION: Symptomatic giant ingested foreign bodies represent a management challenge sometimes and usually necessitate surgical intervention when all conservative means fail. We review the literature on management of giant ingested foreign bodies.