An Unusually Large Object Removed From the Upper Esophagus in a Patient With Self Harm Syndrome

Abstract

A 32-year-old female with a history of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia was transported to our tertiary-care hospital after swallowing a large toilet paper holder bracket. Removal of the large foreign body required coordination between anesthesiology, otolaryngology, and trauma surgery. A tracheostomy airway was established, and the object was removed transorally. The object was found to be a toilet paper holder bracket measuring 7.5 cm × 5.4 cm × 5.4 cm with a 2.6 cm screw protruding from the end. A review of articles describing the removal of foreign bodies from the upper aerodigestive tract found our object to be the largest foreign body ingestion described in literature. One report suggested that 18% of adult patients with foreign body ingestions had primary neuropsychiatric disorders. Our patient’s psychiatric disorder was a major underlying factor leading to the ingestion, with our patient reporting hallucinations instructing her to ingest household objects.