title: Liver perforation following foreign body ingestion: an important clinical lesson.
abstract: A 25-year-old woman presented to the surgical unit with a 1-week history of ingestion of a pen. Examination revealed a minimally tender epigastrium with no peritonism. Investigations were unremarkable, with normal bloods and no free air on erect chest radiograph. At the time of endoscopy, the pen appeared to have perforated the lesser curve of the stomach. Endoscopic extraction was abandoned and a CT arranged, revealing the tip of the pen lying within the left lobe of the liver. The pen was removed at laparotomy with an uneventful recovery. This case highlights the importance of considering the potential for injury to other structures following gastric perforation, and the importance of having a low threshold for further imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Mater Hospital, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martel
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Mater Hospital, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Mater Hospital, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Mater Hospital, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scoffield
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration; D006801:Humans; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000379:methods*; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D013270:Stomach / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome