Self-ingested intraduodenal foreign bodies – expectancy or surgical sanction?

Abstract Self-harm is a frequent pathology amongst psychiatric patients and in the penitentiary environment. Multiple self-aggression types are described, but, by far, the practice most frequently met inside the Romanian penitentiary environment is foreign body (FB) ingestion. The paper aims to show aspects pertaining to the presence of intraduodenal foreign bodies, both in simple cases and in cases that ended with a perforation, using a number of 47 cases registered between 2003 and 2010 in “Rahova" Penitentiary Hospital. The paper also focused on particular aspects linked to intraduodenal foreign body surgical accessibility. Abbreviations: FB=foreign bodies; OR=operating room; GEA=gastroenteroanastomosis