Migration of a Fish Bone From the Esophagus to the Thyroid Gland

Abstract

Accidental swallowing of fish bone is one of the most common emergencies in the otolaryngology department. The impacted fish bones are usually found in the palatine tonsil, base of the tongue, valleculae, pyriform sinus, and esophagus, which can be successfully removed after a thorough examination. However, in some cases, the fish bone may penetrate into the neck soft tissue and migrate to extraluminal organs, causing infection, abscess formation, or rupture of vessels. In such cases, prompt recognition and immediate removal of the impacted fish bone are necessary. Herein, we report a rare case of a 60-year-old woman who had accidently swallowed a fish bone 10 days prior to visiting the outpatient department. The fiberoptic scope and head and neck computed tomography scans were obtained from the outpatient department. The fish bone was found to migrate from the upper esophagus to the left thyroid gland. First, a rigid esophageal endoscopy was performed in the operating room, but no obvious fish bone was noted over the esophagus. Finally, the fish bone was removed via exploratory cervicotomy with left-sided total lobectomy of the thyroid. The patient recovered after the operation, and there were no further complications during the 3 years of follow-up.

Translocation of a fish spike from the pharynx to the thyroid gland: A case report

“…Long-term containment of foreign substances can lead to non-typical chronic symptoms like painful difficulty swallowing, dysphagia, neck swelling, neck mass, fever, Serious systemic infection and other clinical phenomena. According to the reported cases[ 6 , 7 ], the main symptom was usually a neck abscess, with sore throat and neck pain as the main complaints. In the present case, the patient had a foreign body sensation only in the throat, and we were unable to palpate the mass; however, a foreign body was present on CT imaging.…”