title: Surgical removal of a tea spoon from the ascending colon, ten years after ingestion: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The presentation of ingested foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal system is common in the emergency setting. The majority responds to conservative management and passes spontaneously; however, giant foreign bodies pose a management difficulty. We report a peculiar case of a giant foreign body (spoon) that presented very late after ingestion and the management of this presentation.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 30-year-old British white male barrister presented with abdominal pain 10 years after he swallowed a spoon that never passed spontaneously. His workup revealed the spoon lodged in his ascending colon. Laparoscopic retrieval was not feasible so a laparotomy was done for retrieval. He did well and went home with no complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Symptomatic giant ingested foreign bodies represent a management challenge sometimes and usually necessitate surgical intervention when all conservative means fail. We review the literature on management of giant ingested foreign bodies.
authors.affiliation: Department of BioSurgery & Surgical Technology, Imperial College Healthcare, St. Mary's Hospital Campus QEQM Building, 10 Floor, South Wharf Road, London W2 1NY UK. s.deeba@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: Samer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deeba
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Purkayastha
authors.forename: San
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jeyarajah
authors.forename: Ara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darzi