Management of Nonprogressive Sharp Foreign Body in a Two Year Old

Abstract

Foreign body (FB) ingestion is a common and potentially serious problem in the pediatric age group. We describe a case of a 2-year-old boy who presented 15 days after ingesting a metallic nail. He was asymptomatic since then, and the FB had not passed spontaneously. Emergency laparotomy was done, and the FB was removed. Spontaneous passage had been inadvertently allowed for 15 days in this case, instead of the recommended 3 days. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of ingested metallic nail not having passed spontaneously after a period of 15 days. Our emphasis on presenting this case report has been on the timely surgical intervention.