Chicken-bone perforation of a sigmoid colon diverticulum into the right groin and subsequent phlegmonous inflammation of the abdominal wall

Colonic diverticula are frequent in western countries and approximately 80% of patients who develop diverticulitis are elderly. The sigmoid and descending colon are most commonly involved. Clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic diverticula to life-threatening complications such as diverticulum perforation and subsequent peritonitis. In a small percentage of cases ingestion of foreign bodies can cause perforation of the sigmoid diverticulum. Ingestion of foreign bodies such as chicken bones, fish bones, toothpicks and dentures usually has no consequence and only 5% of such cases require surgery. Patients frequently do not realize that they have ingested the foreign body and the cause of the damage is usually discovered intraoperatively or on pathological examination of the surgical specimen. We report an 82-year-old woman with perforation of a sigmoid diverticulum into the right groin with subsequent phlegmonous inflammation of the abdominal wall. A Hartmann's procedure with necrectomy of the abdominal wall was performed. Histopathologic examination revealed an ingested chicken bone perforating the diverticulum. When diverticulitis or diverticular abscess is suspected in an elderly patient, foreign body impaction or perforation should be considered as a possible cause.