A Case of Perforation of the Colon by a Toothpick

Haruki Morimoto, Kentaro Kawasaki, Shiro Takase, Takashi Kamigaki, Hajime Ikuta*, Daisuke Kuroda and Yoshikazu Kuroda

Division of Gastroenterological Surgery, Department of Clinical Molecular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kobe University
Department of Surgery, Kasai City Hospital*

A 51-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of right lower quadrant abdominal pain. There was tenderness in the right lower quadrant without signs of peritoneal irritation, and laboratory data showed slightly inflammatory reaction. Abdominal ultrasonography showed a low echoic leision of 2.0 cm in diameter with a linear high echoic leision at the right lower quadrant abdomen. We underwent an emergency operation with a diagnosis of acute appendicitis. We found a pin whole and small abscess on the wall of ascending colon near Bauhin's valve, and a penetration of the other side with small abscess in the mesenterium. In addition, we found a thin stick foreign body in that ascending colon, so we underwent an ileocecal resection and drainage with a diagnosis of perforation by swallowing foreign body accidentally. The foreign body was a toothpick. In case of an examination for patient with acute abdominal pain, we need to consider the perforation caused by the foreign body.

Key words
foreign body ingestion, toothpick, perforation

Reprint requests
Haruki Morimoto Division of Gastroenterological Surgery, Department of Clinical Molecular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kobe University
7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017 JAPAN

Accepted
February 22, 2006

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