Annals of Medicine and SurgeryA Florida man nearly died after putting an 8in screwdriver up his bum and leaving it there for a week.
Doctors shared the bizarre case in a report published in the Annals of Medicine and Surgery journal, in which they explained the man sought emergency help after suffering with abdominal and pelvic pain for a week.
The 46-year-old’s medical history showed he had suffered with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and he failed to take medication properly.
Annals of Medicine and SurgeryThe man suffered life-threatening septic shock as a result of bacteria from the screwdriver that had got into his bloodstream, but medics did not find the cause of his issues until they performed a CT scan and saw a foreign object in the man’s rectum, according to the report.
Doctors quickly realised it was a screwdriver measuring 8.2in long by 1.1in wide (21cm x 3cm).
There were clear signs the man’s bowel was damaged, so doctors gave him antibiotics and rushed him into the operating theatre, however initial attempts to remove the tool proved unsuccessful.
The screwdriver was too big and hardened faeces prevented surgeons from getting to the metal object, so doctors were left with no choice but to slice into the man’s abdominal cavity to investigate further.
See the screwdriver below – Warning: Graphic Content:
Annals of Medicine and SurgerySurgeons discovered the metal end of the screwdriver had made a hole in the man’s large intestine and pierced the buttock muscle, damaging tissue between his penis and anus.
After successfully removing the foreign object, they sewed the hole back up and drained fluid from a large abscess in the 46-year-old’s right buttock.
Despite the successful surgery, the man did not become stable for two days, and he had to be kept on an IV drip in intensive care to fight off his septic shock.
To save the Florida man’s life, doctors performed an ileostomy, in which his bodily waste was rerouted from his intestines to a bag outside his body.
The man’s ordeal still wasn’t over, however, as the wound on his bum started to rot, so surgeons had to operate again to get rid of the dying flesh.
After two weeks, doctors said the injured man was ‘doing well’ so they planned an ostomy reversal to rid the man of the bag for his waste.
In the report, they added:
The patient recovered and was discharged to Behavioral Health for inpatient treatment of his psychiatric disorders.
Annals of Medicine and SurgeryThough the case is certainly unusual, Dr Youssef Shaban, who led the writing of the article, said it is not entirely unique. He noted two previously documented cases in which screwdrivers were discovered in the colon, one of which was in 1861. It’s unclear when the second case was.
Dr Shaban explained the most common reason for ‘anal foreign body insertion’ is sexual pleasure, though the 46-year-old has not explained why he put the screwdriver in his bum in the first place.
The Florida man has since needed treatment for psychiatric disorders.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.