title: A case of surgical instrument left in the abdomen and taken out of the transverse colon.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Foreign bodies cause an aseptic reaction that does not have specific symptoms and may also result in peritonitis, acute abdominal pain, an intraperitoneal abscess, or intestinal obstruction or perforation. We present a case of a surgical instrument left in the abdomen that passed into the transverse colon via migration after a surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 36-year-old female patient was operated upon, with a diagnosis of a hydatid cyst in her liver. Approximately 3 years after the surgery, she excreted part of a surgical forceps with her stool while she was defecating. In upright direct abdominal radiography, a surgical instrument was observed in the abdomen. The patient was operated to remove the foreign body from the abdomen. The surgical instrument that was taken out had corroded and turned black. It was observed that the material that had dropped out of the anus and the material that was taken out during the operation were parts of the same surgical instrument. The ascending colon and the abdomen were stitched anatomically. Follow-ups were conducted after the operation, and the patient was discharged with recovery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It should be noted that a surgical instrument may be left inside the body of patients who have a history of surgery and that it can migrate.
authors.affiliation: The Ministry of Justice, Council of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bostan
authors.affiliation: The Ministry of Justice, Council of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ma
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karakaya
authors.affiliation: The Ministry of Justice, Council of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demir
authors.affiliation: The Ministry of Justice, Council of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: As
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cağdir
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, Medical Faculty, Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hanci
keywords: Surgical instrument; taken out; transverse colon