A man was left thanking his doctors after they successfully removed a flashing kids’ toy from inside his anus. He went to hospital complaining of severe pain in his backside and admitted that a “foreign body” was stuck up there – later revealed to be a 6.5cm diameter ball.
The ball was a transparent sphere with two cartoon faces on either side. It also contained smaller ball bearings and a red liquid. An anal digital examination revealed that the ball was stuck in the man’s rectum – around 7cm away from his anus.
The unnamed man, who was 62 years old, was given a minor colonoscopy, which found a higher than normal blood flow in the area, as well as swelling of the mucus membrane.
Doctors also found some bleeding inside the rectum, where the ball was rubbing the flesh.
To get the ball out, surgeons came up with an ingenious plan to make their lives as easy as possible.
The placed the man under general aesthetic, and then used a scalpel to pierce the elastic ball.
All of the liquid inside the ball drained out, while the ball’s overall size was reduced as air rushed out. It was then successfully removed using forceps and a ‘foreign body clamp’ through the man’s rectum.
In the aftermath of the procedure, another colonoscopy showed minor erosive bleeding, but the active bleeding had completely stopped. There was also no perforation to either the anus or the intestine.
The removal of the children’s flashing ball was claimed as a “successful” example of a minimally invasive procedure.
It’s sadly not the first time someone has appeared at A&E after getting an object stuck inside them. Radiologists previously revealed a series of x-rays showing some of the most embarassing A&E visits they’ve seen.
Deodorant cans, lighter fluid bottles, coffee jars, and even a whole orange have been found stuck inside rectums. A 40-year-old man even claimed he slipped directly onto a pestle while cooking Malaysian food.
There was also an egg, an aubergine, an axe handle, a sports drink bottle and a homemade object fashioned from an empty tube of Berocca tablets with a spray nozzle on the end.
Doctors on the Radiopaedia website wrote: “The vast majority of such objects are inserted via the anus and are the result of sexual misadventure.
“In older men, the objects may be introduced to aid in manual disimpaction for constipation or to massage the prostate.
“Removal of such objects can be challenging depending on the shape, material and orientation within the rectum.
“If possible they should be removed via the anus, although in some cases a laparotomy may be required.”
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