An Italian man was lucky to escape serious injury after a drinking glass he had shoved up his bottom for pleasure shattered.
The unnamed patient, believed to be from Milan, told doctors he put the object up his bottom for 'sexual stimulation'.
But when he tried to remove the 8cm by 6cm drinking vessel, it broke and sharp pieces of glass were left scattered inside him.
He eventually sought medical help two days later when he became worried about his safety - despite being in no pain.
X-rays confirmed the presence of glass in his rectum, which appeared with the bottom-side facing up, experts wrote in BMJ Case Reports.
The patient, who had a history of cocaine abuse, was then immediately transferred to the operating theatre.
Surgeons dilated his rectum, allowing for them to widen his passage to enable an examination device to enter.
Sharp fragments were then extracted, before the remainder of the glass was picked out using forceps.
Upon further inspection, the team at the 2IRCCS Policlinico San Donato Surgery found no other fragments of glass.
However, the patient did complain of abdominal pain, suggesting that not all of the fragments were removed.
But the doctors found no pieces were remaining.
Psychiatric help offered
The patient was offered psychiatric help following his incident, but he refused and was instead allowed home the next day.
He eventually returned to full health three months later.
Writing in the journal, the doctors said: 'A variety of objects impacted in the rectum have been described: bottles, sex toys, vegetables, etc.
'Generally, patients with rectal foreign bodies (RFB) try to retrieve the objects by themselves because of shame and embarrassment to seek medical care, but the majority fail in these attempts and eventually present to the emergency room.
'Management of these patients requires a respectful and non-condemnatory attitude on behalf of doctors and nurses.
'Prior to discharge, patients should be educated on the potential dangers of their habit.'