Rectal foreign bodies are large foreign items found in the rectum that can be assumed to have been inserted through the anus, rather than reaching the rectum via the mouth and gastrointestinal tract. It can be of clinical relevance if the patient cannot remove it the way they intended. Smaller, ingested foreign bodies, such as bones eaten with food, can sometimes be found stuck in the rectum upon x-ray and are rarely of clinical relevance. Rectal foreign bodies are a subgroup of foreign bodies in the alimentary tract. Signs and symptoms If the foreign body is too big to allow feces from the colon to pass, a mechanical ileus may occur. The distension of the rectum and the disruption of the peristasis reinforce this effect. The foreign body may cause infections, destroying the intestinal wall. Depending on the location of the perforation, this may lead to a peritonitis due to the feces or an abscess in the retroperitoneal space. Smaller objects that injure the intestinal wall, but do not perforate it, may be encapsulated by a foreign body granuloma. They may remain in the rectum as a pseudotumor without any further effects. Complications The most common – but still rare – complication is a perforation of the rectum caused by the foreign object itself or attempts to remove it. Diagnosed perforations are operated immediately by opening the abdomen and removal or suturing of the perforated area. In order to suppress infections, antibiotics are usually prescribed. Often, a temporary ileostomy is necessary to protect the stitches. After a contrast medium applied by an enema proves the complete healing of the perforated area, the ileostomy is reversed. This usually takes between three and six months. Average hospitalization is 19 days. Medical literature describes some deaths due to rectal foreign bodies, but they are very rare and usually classified as autoerotic fatality. A 75-year-old patient died due to a rectal perforation caused by a mentally ill person using a cane. Another middle-aged patient died due to a rectal perforation by a vibrator. The perforation was sutured and the patient received intensive medical care, but he contracted Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) due to the trauma, resulting in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and death. There is a paper describing a death after a perforation with a shoehorn. The rectum has to be nursed after a surgical procedure