Fatalities due to intestinal obstruction following the ingestion of foreign bodies

Two fatalities due to an occlusive ileus following the ingestion of
foreign bodies in patients with psychiatric disorders are
described. A severely mentally handicapped young man developed a
temperature and died 1 h after admission to a surgical ward. At
autopsy, not, vert, similar 2000 cm3 of foreign material, including
broken glass and porcelain, branches, buttons, parts of clothing
and other material were found in the gastrointestinal tract,
leading to a complete obstruction of the distal intestine and colon
with resulting faecal vomiting. The other case was even more
unusual as a hair fetishist had swallowed a thick strand of his own
hair, 50 cm long, also resulting in mechanical obstruction of the
distal intestine.