Hazards of Multiple Magnet Ingestion in Children;

Abstract

Foreign body ingestion is relatively common in the paediatric population and most object pass through the gastrointestinaltract spontaneously. With the popularity of small magnetic toys, there have been numerous reports of magnet ingestion with morbidityand even mortality. We report a case of 3-years old boy who presented with clinical features of subacute intestinal obstruction with nohistory of foreign body ingestion. On exploratory laparotomy, he was found to have multiple small bowel perforations due to two smallmagnets. Magnets were removed and perforations repaired. The aim of this report is to awarepaediatricians of the importance of earlysurgical referral in case of magnet ingestion, to prevent severe complications.