The authors present the case-history of a 33-year-old man who injured his rectum by a foreign body. He attended treatment only after decubital necrosis of the intestinal wall and development of peritonitis. Extraction of the foreign body from the rectum was performed and treatment of the abdominal cavity, drainage with sigmoideostomy which was submerged in the second stage. The patient is 9 months after the second operation and does not suffer from any disorders as regards defaecation.