Presentation
Work-up for abdominal pain and constipation in a young adult.
Patient Data
Non-specific abdominal X-ray finding of mild fecal loading.
There is an incidental umbilical piercing and a satisfactory sited IUCD (Mirena) in situ.
Disclosure: I, Ashesh I Ranchod, have no actual or potential ethical or financial conflict of interest in relation to this device. This case is not intended to be a personal endorsement or recommendation of this product.
Case Discussion
Umbilical piercing is also known as a "belly button" or "naval" piercing. These are fairly commonly encountered in young females presenting for imaging to the radiology department. They can be an upper belly button piercing, a lower belly button piercing, a double belly button piercing or a dermal belly button piercing. This is an example of a floating naval piercing.
They can be a challenge to remove in the radiology department and often times one has to perform imaging with the piercing in situ. They will cause some artefacts on CT imaging. If made from ferromagnetic material they are contraindicated for MRI. Ideally, all piercings should be removed prior to an MRI to prevent unexpected injuries and burns.
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