title: Migrating fish bone complicating a deep neck abscess.
abstract: Deep neck infections are not uncommon; however, a migrating fish bone is seldom a cause of a deep neck abscess. Fish bones are a sharp foreign body and can penetrate the oropharynx or esophagus. However, this rarely occurs. We report a case of deep neck abscess resulting from the intracorporeal migration of a fish bone. Initial radiography and esophagoscopy of the neck were both negative; migration of the bone was ultimately documented by computed tomography. Surgical exploration was performed via a lateral neck incision, and the fish bone was successfully retrieved. Although fish bones are a rare etiology of deep neck abscesses, should be kept in mind when a patient has the history of fish bone ingestion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan, ROC. yang1553@cgmh.org.tw
authors.forename: Shih-Wei
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Tsung-Ming
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Tai-An
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000209:etiology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed