Fishbone in oropharynx

Case contributed by Aneta Kecler-Pietrzyk
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Young girl with a cough for last few weeks and foreign body sensation in the throat. No background medical or surgical history. Chest x-ray demonstrated no abnormality.

Patient Data

Age: 10 years
Gender: Female
x-ray

Vertically oriented linear radio-opaque foreign body in the anterior aspect of the oropharynx at the level of C2-C3.

Annotated image

The arrows point to a fish bone in the anterior aspect of oropharynx at the level of C2-C3.

Case Discussion

Foreign body ingestion is common, especially in the pediatric population. A fishbone was well seen in this case; however, it is important to remember that radiographs are not always helpful in their visualization and direct endoscopic visualization can be more beneficial.

In this case, a foreign body was removed endoscopically and turned out to represent a long fish bone. 

The patient and her parents confirmed consumption of fish few weeks prior to presentation; however, no episode of coughing or gagging was recalled. 

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