Liver abscess secondary to a broken needle migration- A case report

Abstract

Background: Perforation of gut by sharp metallic objects is rare and rarer still is their migration to sites like liver. The symptoms may be non-specific and the discovery of foreign body may come as a radiological surprise to the unsuspecting clinician since the history of ingestion is difficult to obtain.

Perforation of the Gallbladder Due to a Swallowed Sewing Needle: Case Report

“…For foreign bodies that have been ingested and are in the stomach and duodenum, general management is usually the conservative approach. There may be an indication for surgery in situations, as in our present case, if there is a history of foreign body ingestion and failure of its progression as well as the presence of acute abdomen (1,5). Traditional surgical treatment requires laparotomy for foreign body removal, but the laparoscopic approach for intestinal foreign bodies has also been reported (1,10).…”

“…In very few of these patients, foreign bodies fail to progress; therefore, there is an indication of surgical intervention only in 1%-14% of cases (2,3). Fortunately, swallowed foreign bodies rarely perforate the organs and migrate into the abdominal cavity; however, if it happens, laparotomy is indicated (1,4). Although isolated perforations of hollow organs such as the stomach have been reported due to swallowed sewing needles, it is very uncommon for co-existent perforations of the stomach and gallbladder to occur (5,6).…”

“…The ingested foreign body is usually discarded from the gastrointestinal system within a week (1). Organ perforations should be kept in mind in cases with abdominal pain when the progress of the foreign body cannot be visualized by radiography (2).…”

Case of an intrahepatic sewing needle and review of the literature

“…Twelve patients were female and 10 were men; 11 were under the age of 18 years and 12 were over 18 years of age. From a diagnostic perspective, 6 patients went to the hospital after swallowing needle without acute abdomen, 2 patients were diagnosed with liver abscess, [8,19] and needle in the livers of 9 patients were diagnosed as incidental. Four patients were examined for acute abdomen, and FB in the liver was observed.…”

Migration of two swallowed foreign bodies to different locations in the same case

“…Direct abdominal x-ray imaging, upper gastrointestinal system endoscopy, colonoscopy, ultrasonography and computerized tomography (CT) can be used for diagnosis (9,10). Ultrasonography and CT provide better results due to high resolution and accuracy rates, in terms of showing the atypical localizations and planning treatment (3).…”