Toothpick perforates small bowel-mimicking diverticulitis

Abstract

Bowel perforation is an emergency condition that requires critical thinking and readily intervention; nevertheless, on occasions, its presentation can be challenging to diagnose. Several etiologies could cause bowel perforation, including obstruction, mass, inflammation, ischemia, etc. On rare occasions, a foreign body could be the cause of perforation, which mandates a detailed history and focused review of the images when the patient’s condition allows. We report a case of ileal perforation caused by an ingested wooden toothpick that was suspected on the CT images, which the patient has no memory of ingesting.

Coconut leaf midrib skewer as a cause for small bowel obstruction and perforation: A case report

“…With the advent of minimally invasive surgery, diagnostic laparoscopy has been proven to be an option in selected cases. Fallatah et al were able to extract a toothpick similarly perforating an ileum and further explored the abdomen laparoscopically [ 7 ]. It may have the advantage of being both diagnostic and therapeutic, providing greater magnification, less pain and early recovery.…”