Foreign bodies in the rectum: Three case reports of sexual violence

Sexual violence is one of the worst forms of violence with long-term physical and psychological effects on victims. It has been stated that sexual stimulation was responsible for 78% of clinically relevant foreign rectal bodies. About 10% of the cases were due to sexual assault. A problem commonly encountered in patients with RFB is the delay in presentation. While patients may be reluctant to disclose the cause of their presentation.

All the patients were males with a mean age of 41.1 years old. On average, they presented 2 days after the rape, Diagnosis was made in all 3 patients with a history and abdominal x-ray.The cause of the foreign body in each patient was violence and retaliatory behavior. Foreign objects included bottles, lamps, and water pipes. In 2 patients the foreign bodies were removed through Trans-anal procedure and in one patient laparotomy and colostomy need to be done for removing the Foreign object.

Despite the urgency in the treatment of these patients, which involves the removal of a foreign body, special attention should be paid to psychological trauma and its long-term effects on patients' wellbeing. In stable, non-perforated patients, tans-anal approach under sedation is a good approach. If it fails, the patient needs to go to operating room for further anesthetic and surgical interventions.