title: Liver abscess caused by toothpick and treated by laparoscopic left hepatic resection: case report and literature review.
abstract: Hepatic abscesses caused by ingested foreign bodies have been reported in the medical literature but represent very uncommon events. Extra-luminal migration of sawing needles and pins is the most common cause of perforation of the gastrointestinal tract associated with liver infections. Other non-metallic sharp objects such as animal bones and toothpicks have been described but are less frequent. The authors present a case of a 45-year-old woman who suffered from sepsis and a liver abscess because of the migration of a toothpick that lodged in the left hepatic lobe. Review of the literature on the pathogenesis and clinical management of liver abscesses caused by ingested foreign is presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: Bassam
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abu-Wasel
authors.forename: Karim M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Eltawil
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Keough
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molinari
mesh_terms: D017081:Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008100:Liver Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018805:Sepsis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014934:Wood