Endoscopic removal of a toothpick perforating the sigmoid colon and causing chronic abdominal pain: a case report

Toothpick ingestion is implicated in gut injuries which may cause severe complications, mimicking diseases causing acute abdomen. However, toothpick ingestion-related perforation may also cause mild, non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms without significant findings or major complications. We describe a young male with chronic postprandial lower abdominal pain caused by a toothpick impaction at the rectosigmoid junction after inadvertent ingestion. The foreign body was detected and successfully removed during flexible sigmoidoscopy. Perforation due to foreign body ingestion must be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with unexplained symptoms and findings, even when they do not recall any foreign body ingestion.