Medics in Milan were unable to get the rubber dildo out using standard methods, complaining it was too big and smooth. After scratching their heads, the team crafted a new tool that worked like a lasso to catch the end of the dildo and drag it out, which proved successful.

The patient visited the emergency unit of the ASST Great Metropolitan Hospital in Niguarda, a district of Milan. He told medics he had placed the dildo into his rectum the day before, and said it was ‘not removable by hand’.

Upon questioning, he admitted he was suffering mild abdominal pain – but had no other worrying symptoms. An X-ray revealed a 23 inch (60cm) object in his colon, according to the bizarre tale published in BMJ Case Reports.

Consultants then referred him to the hospital’s endoscopy unit, to allow surgeons the chance of removing the dildo.

Writing in the journal, medics led by Dr Lorenzo Dioscoridi said: ‘Several standard attempts with different extraction devices were made.’

There are a range of sexual toys designed specifically for the anus of men and women available on the market.

This is because the anus is much more sensitive and requires smoother objects to enter it for stimulation.

All objects designed for anal sex also have a flared base which prevents it from ever getting sucked inside by the anus’ very strong muscles.

But people have long experimented with different objects in their anus, which risk their health.

In an online forum, doctors warn that anal masturbation with appropriate toys or fingers is fine, but other objects can tear tissue and even lead to a perforated colon.

Other doctors warn of an anal sphincter injury leading to incontinence.

Dr Michael Brady, medical director at Terrence Higgins Trust, previously said: ‘Sex toys and other objects can be a safe and enjoyable part of a healthy sex life but it’s important to use common sense when choosing an object.

‘Anything with sharp edges or made of glass can shatter and tear the internal lining, which can cause injury and infections, as well as giving viruses an easier route into the body. Anything that is inserted into the body should be smooth, non-fragile and easily retrievable.’

A 50mm polypectomy’s snare – a wire loop device used to chop off abnormal tissue growths called polyps – was also ineffective.

Dr Dioscoridi and colleagues said the technique didn’t work because of the ‘rigidity, the smoothness and the large size of the foreign body’.

Forceps and a wire-guided dilation balloon – another common method – failed because of the ‘hard consistence’ of the dildo.

Usually, surgery is the only remaining option to remove foreign bodies that are stuck. But the new technique may change that.

After all their attempts, the medics built a ‘home-made’ snare, designed to hook onto the dildo and drag it back out of the man’s rectum.

In the journal they wrote: ‘We finally succeeded in the endoscopic extraction of the device, catching the distal edge of the dildo with this guidewire lasso.

‘This device showed a technical advantage as compared with ordinary polypectomy snares, due to its much higher stiffness.’

Dr Dioscoridi said this made it possible to detach the colonic wall from the dildo and ‘effectively pull the object’.

The medics said the new technique may be a ‘valid option’ to remove large foreign bodies from the colon and rectum when standard methods for extraction fail.

The patient was allowed home on the same day of the procedure. He reported no lasting symptoms a month later.

He wrote a thank you note for the consultants for solving his ’embarrassing problem’ without having to resort to surgery.

The new case comes after a drunk British man last year perforated his bowel after inserting an ‘unusually large’ 30-inch (77cm) dildo in his anus.

The patient, whose name is unknown, used the bendy object for sexual gratification when he was drunk, according to the BMJ Case Report.

Doctors at the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust revealed he ‘lost control’ of the toy because he was intoxicated.

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