A new approach in the treatment of faecaloma of the colon

A 43-year-old woman presented with a 12-hour history of colicky abdominal pain increasing in severity and frequency. There was nausea but no vomiting. She last opened her bowels and passed flatus 48 hours before and otherwise had no history of constipation. There was no recent change in bowel habit and no blood or mucus per rectum. There had been no systemic disturbance and there was no family history of malignancy of the large intestine. The only surgical history was an appendicectomy performed at the age of 39 years. There was no relevant medical history. On clinical examination, the patient was apyrexial, normotensive, tachycardic and distressed. The abdomen was distended and tympanic but with no signs of peritonism. There was a palpable non-tender mass in the left lower abdominal quadrant. Her basic haematology and biochemistry were unremarkable; plain radiography of the chest showed a right basal pleural effusion with some patchy collapse at the right lung base. Erect and supine abdominal radiographs...