The Man Who Swallowed a Table Knife: A Case Report

Abstract

A 31-year-old male presented with acute foreign-body ingestion. He reported swallowing a table knife 2 h prior to his arrival. He had a history of post-traumatic stress disorder and multiple prior foreign-body ingestions requiring endoscopic and surgical extraction. Previous ingestions included pens and a mechanical pencil. He appeared in no acute distress. His physical exam was unremarkable other than for multiple well-healed abdominal incisions. A rectal exam was performed, and the patient's stool found to be heme-occult negative.Chest X-ray (Figs 1 and 2) revealed a metallic knife at the gastroesophageal junction with the handle oriented inferiorly. Emergent esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed under general anesthesia with overtube insertion. A table knife was identified in the mid-esophagus. It was grasped with a snare and then drawn into the overtube. The scope and overtube were then carefully withdrawn. The snare slipped off the knife, leaving the knife partially in the proximal esophagus and posterior pharynx. The anesthetists removed the knife with a laryngoscope and McGill forceps. After removal of the knife, the endoscope was reintroduced for careful examination. There was minimal trauma to the esophagus in the location where the knife was removed. There was no active bleeding at any time throughout the procedure. Post-extraction, the table knife was measured to be 21 cm in length.

Inadvertent Ingestion of Wire Bristles From a Grill Cleaning Brush: Radiologic Detection of Unsuspected Foreign Bodies

“…The literature on foreign body ingestion in adults is scant, consisting mainly of case reports. Objects described include a comb [4], a table knife [5], and a toothpick [6], with reported complications including obstruction, perforation, and gastrointestinal bleeding.…”