A Case of Intestinal Obstruction Due to Ingestion of a Plastic Toy

Abstract

A 1-year-old boy was referred to our hospital because of frequent vomiting. After two days, he had a fever and diarrhea. After his admission, his diarrhea stopped, but his abdomen was gradually distended and his abdominal radiography showed marked dilatation of the small intestine. After five days, his abdominal CT scan showed a spherical foreign body in his ileum and intestinal dilatation. We diagnosed intestinal obstruction due to the foreign body, and he underwent emergent surgery. A foreign body was found in his ileum and removed. It was a soft spherical toy 25mm in diameter made of TPE (thermoplastic elastomer). After the operation, his fever fell immediately. We often experience infant foreign body ingestion in the emergency room, but few cases are operated on because of bowel obstruction with a foreign body. Moreover, it takes us time to diagnose bowel obstruction because infants can't describe their symptoms in cases where no one sees their ingestion.