The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2012 , Vol 54 , Num 3
A Unique Case of Magnet Ingestion with Respect to Presentation and Management
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
Magnet ingestion may lead to serious complications with delay in diagnosis
and treatment. The forceful attraction between magnets, with gastric and/or
intestinal wall entrapped between them, can cause injury through pressure
necrosis. The radiological appearance of more than one magnet on X-ray can
be easily misinterpreted as belonging to only one rod-like radiopaque foreign
body, even if the magnets are located in different parts of the gastrointestinal
tract, thus delaying the management up to the onset of emergent surgical
complications. A 17-month-old female with ingestion of a pair of magnets is
presented, together with introduction of the clinical picture and therapeutic
approach, which differed from the other previously reported cases. The
ovoid shape of the magnets, their localization in the gastrointestinal tract
(leading to entrapped gastric and intestinal wall between them), absence of
any complication, and the therapeutic approach of endoscopic retrieval are
the main distinguishing features of this case from those previously reported.
Keywords :
child, foreign body, magnet, ingestion.