Toothpick Colon Injury Mimicking Colonic Diverticulitis.
- Author:
Min Hyeong JO
1
;
Hwan NAMGUNG
Author Information
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords: Toothpick; Colon; Injury
- MeSH: Abdomen; Abdominal Wall; Cecum; Colon*; Colon, Sigmoid; Deglutition; Diverticulitis; Diverticulitis, Colonic*; Eating; Foreign Bodies; Gastrointestinal Tract; Humans; Inflammation; Laparotomy; Male; Middle Aged; Postoperative Complications; Subcutaneous Fat; Ultrasonography
- From:Annals of Coloproctology 2018;34(3):157-159
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Although toothpick ingestion is rare, it can lead to fatal complications in the gastrointestinal tract. Diagnosing toothpick ingestion is difficult because most patients do not recall swallowing one. We report 2 cases of toothpick-ingestion-induced colon injury, mimicking diverticulitis. The first patient was a 47-year-old male who had received conservative treatment under the impression of his having diverticulitis in the cecum. Ultrasonography revealed a linear foreign body in the right lower abdomen; a subsequent laparoscopic examination revealed inflammation around the cecum, but no evidence of bowel perforation. A thorough investigation revealed a toothpick embedded in the subcutaneous fat and muscle layer of the lower abdominal wall; we removed it. The second patient was a 56-year-old male who had received conservative treatment under the impression of his having diverticulitis in the sigmoid colon. An explorative laparotomy revealed a toothpick piercing the sigmoid colon; we performed an anterior resection. Both patients were discharged without postoperative complications.
