An unusual foreign body swallowed by a newborn causing respiratory distress

Swallowed and inhaled foreign bodies in children under 5 years of age are common and considered serious causes of morbidity and mortality. However such occurrence is uncommon in infants and newborns. The current report deals with a strange object lodged in the oesophagus of a 20-day-old male newborn.     

Endobronchial cockroach: an unusual foreign body aspiration

Foreign-body aspiration is a frequent and potentially lethal occurrence in children. It is associated with a variety of symptoms including choking, coughing, and wheezing. These symptoms differ in severity and are sometimes absent, and chest radiograph findings are often nonspecific. Thus, the diagnosis of foreign body aspiration is occasionally missed or delayed. A multitude of aspirated objects have been reported in the literature. In the present report, we describe the aspiration of a cockroach by a child with a delay in diagnosis of 3 d.     

An iatrogenic arterial foreign body

The creation, possible complications and retrieval of an unusual, perhaps unique, arterial foreign body are described.     

Laryngeal foreign body: an unusual complication of percutaneous tracheostomy

Impaction of a foreign body in the larynx is a serious event. While inhaled foreign bodies may occasionally impact in the larynx especially in children, a laryngeal foreign body as a complication of percutaneous tracheostomy has not been reported in the literature. We describe the case of a fragment of a Seldinger wire retained in the larynx for two years following a percutaneous tracheostomy and review the literature on the complications of this procedure.     

Unlikely foreign bodies in unusual facial sites

PURPOSE: To determine whether cataract in patients with atopic dermatitis is associated with higher levels of aqueous flare or cells. METHODS: In a prospective study, 35 consecutive patients examined during a 6-month period at the atopic dermatitis service in a university hospital underwent standardized ophthalmologic evaluations including the quantitative measurement of aqueous flare and cells by a laser flare-cell meter. RESULTS: Seven patients had bilateral cataract with anterior or posterior subcapsular opacities, or both; one patient had similar cataract in one eye and no cataract in the opposite eye; and 27 patients had no cataract in either eye. Fifteen eyes with cataract showed significantly higher levels of aqueous flare (2.1 to 33.9 photon counts per millisecond with a median of 18.0) compared with 55 eyes without cataract (2.4 to 16.0 photon counts per millisecond with a median of 9.2; Mann-Whitney U test, P = .0008). The association of cataract with higher levels of aqueous flare remained significant when only one eye (the right eye) of each patient was chosen for statistical analysis (P = .0024). CONCLUSION: Higher levels of aqueous flare caused by the breakdown of blood-aqueous barrier may contribute to the formation of cataract in patients with atopic dermatitis.     

Iatrogenic foreign body of the esophagus]

The AA. report the case of a 79 years-old patient suffering an esophageal stenosis managed with intubation (Celestin's tube). This instance shows the good tolerance of the prosthesis by the patient as well as the undue of its stay. And by the way, the simplicity of its removal with a rigid esophagoscope, as was the present case. The paper contemplates a brief review of the indications for esophageal intubation and possible complications when dealing with organic stenosis of the esophagus.     

Management of foreign bodies of the rectum: report of 21 cases

This is a report of 21 patients treated for non-therapeutic introduction of rectal foreign bodies in our institution. Nine out of 18 patients had manual transanal extractions performed under general anaesthesia while eight patients required insertion of retractors and gynaecological forceps. In three patients the vacuum from the hollow objects was abolished by passing a catheter through the anus to a point above the object. One of the patients required colotomy for retrieval of a wooden object. In three patients free perforations were obvious clinically with peritoneal signs and free air on plain abdominal radiographs. Treatment was end-sigmoid colostomy and mucous fistula, oversewing of the perforation and peritoneal irrigation. There were no deaths and only one complication occurred, a rectovaginal fistula.     

Scar changes in the bronchus caused by a foreign body

Long lasting recurrent pneumonia in 13-year-old girl was been described. The main cause was the foreign body (pawn of plastic) covered in intermediate bronchus. Bronchoscopy revealed scars in type of "bridges" narrowing intermediate bronchus. The foreign body and the scar changes were removed.     

Traumatic intracranial foreign body embolization--case report

A 27-year-old male presented with intracranial embolization due to accidental penetration of his neck by an iron fragment at work. Cerebral angiography revealed foreign body embolization of the left middle cerebral artery. The foreign body was successfully removed via craniotomy and arteriotomy. The extended period from onset to surgical treatment prevented acute hemodynamic reconstruction. However, he had good collateral circulation and was discharged with mild hemiparesis and moderate motor aphasia. The possibility of intracranial embolization should be considered in patients presenting with penetrating injury of the neck.     

Unusual migration of a foreign body from the gut to a vertebral body

We report a unique case in which a needle was accidentally swallowed and migrated into the vertebral body. Plain films and CT of the spine revealed fragmented, linear, metallic-density material in the L3 vertebral body. The possible mechanisms of the migration are discussed.     

Wooden foreign body in the orbital cavity: a case report

Orbital foreign bodies in Thailand are uncommon. The diagnosis depends on history taking, physical examination and complete investigations. A case of orbital foreign body was reported with satisfactory result of treatment by transethmoidal approach: ethmoidectomy with antrostomy.     

Fragment of a catheter as a foreign body in the kidney

Heavy bleeding often occurs following cementless total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and it is difficult to control. We devised a new method of hemostasis after cementless TKA. In brief, the implant was inserted after coating the exposed surface of the cancellous bone with fibrin glue. Before removal of the tourniquet after completion of the operation a cocktail of hemostatic agents (containing 25 mg of carbazochrome sodium sulfonate and 250 mg of tranexamic acid) in 50 ml of physiological saline was injected into the joint cavity via the drain tube and the drain was clamped for about 30 min after removal of the tourniquet. After removal of the clamp, standard negative pressure suction was performed. This method was used on 84 knees in 42 patients who underwent simultaneous bilateral cementless TKA and 64 knees in 64 patients who underwent unilateral TKA. The mean total amount of blood loss during and after the operation was 235 +/- 178 ml in the unilateral TKA patients and 402 +/- 208 ml in the bilateral TKA patients. No patient required blood transfusions postoperatively. This method was effective for achieving hemostasis after cementless TKA.     

Lens preservation after intraocular foreign body injuries

PURPOSE: Ocular missile injuries often involve the lens. Some have suggested that lens capsular violation by a foreign body is an indication for immediate lens removal. Sometimes, however, the resultant lens opacity may remain localized without visual compromise. The authors report a series of patients who had lens capsular disruption from an intraocular foreign body that resulted in visually insignificant lens opacities. METHODS: A series of five patients with lens capsular disruption as a result of an intraocular foreign body injury were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: All five patients had lens injury from a small foreign body in a peripheral lenticular location. In three patients the foreign body was intralenticular, whereas in the other two patients the foreign body transversed the lens and was located in the posterior segment. In two patients, the foreign body was not removed. Three of the patients required pars plana vitrectomy. In all patients, final visual acuity was at least 20/40, and the lenticular opacity remained localized to an eccentric location. CONCLUSIONS: A progressive, visually significant cataract is not the inevitable result of lens injury by an intraocular foreign body. When indicated, surgical removal of the foreign body may be attempted using a lens-sparing procedure.