Successful Endoscopic Treatment of an Unusual Cause of Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding Using the OVESCO System

Abstract

The great majority of foreign bodies swallowed and entering the stomach are usually passed through the entire gastrointestinal tract uneventfully. The ones that remain can cause perforation, obstruction or bleeding. The risk of perforation is increased with long sharp metal objects, animal bones, in subjects with intestinal diseases (Crohn's disease, intestinal stenosis), and in patients with adhesions due to prior abdominal surgery. For a long time, toothpick impaction in the lower gastrointestinal tract has been managed by surgery. Nowadays with the development of endoscopy, a variety of ingested foreign bodies have been successfully managed by endoscopy. We report the case of a male patient, with a toothpick impacted in the rectosigmoid junction, which was diagnosed and successfully managed by colonoscopy.