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