Vol.101 No.8 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 101 No. 8 August 2008
Multiple Foreign Bodies (Screw and Bell) in the
Bronchus and the Small Intestine: A Case Report
Wakako Kanda
(Hamamatsu Medical Center)
Seiji Hosokawa, Rieko Yamamoto, Jun Okamura and Hiroyuki Mineta
(Hamamatsu University School of Medicine)
Matsumi Tsuchiya
(Seirei Mikatahara General Hospital)
Yasuhiro Okawa
(Okawa ENT Clinic)
Accidental ingestion of foreign bodies is a common pediatric problem. Here we describe multiple foreign bodies (a screw and a bell) in the left bronchus and the small intestine of a 20-month-old child. After the ingestion episode, the patient was initially examined at the pediatric department of her local hospital. A screw was detected in the esophagus and a bell was detected in the small intestine. The patient underwent an endoscopic procedure under general anesthesia. However, the screw was not seen in the esophagus. Chest X-ray of the left side demonstrated that the screw was in the left bronchus. The patient was referred to our hospital, and underwent a removal of the screw under bronchoscopy. Fifty-one hours after ingestion episode, the bell was excreted.
Diagnosis of such cases requires the greatest care, because even if a foreign body is found in the gastrointestinal tract, there may still be another foreign body in the bronchus.
Key words :foreign body, bronchus, small intestine