A 36-year-old man was hospitalized for self-insertion of a metallic body into the urethra. The self-inserted foreign body (SFB) was removed by endoscopic means; psychiatric evaluation of the patient showed a disturbed schizoid personality. After a review of the current literature, including clinical features, diagnostic manoeuvres and methods of treatment of SFB, the authors suggest that a psychiatric evaluation is always recommended in order to discover mental underlying disorders, thus reducing the risk of recurrence.