2022 Volume 58 Issue 1 Pages 40-44
An 11-year-old girl was taken to an emergency clinic for abdominal pain. She was referred to our hospital because multiple foreign bodies were observed by abdominal X-ray. Re-evaluation of the abdominal X-ray showed 10 foreign bodies in the right lower abdomen. According to her parents’ information, she was suspected of accidentally swallowing a magnetic toy (neodymium magnet) about a month earlier. Since the foreign bodies were not found to move on abdominal X-ray images taken two days after the first visit and abdominal ultrasound showed that the foreign body was present in multiple sites of the intestines, we performed a laparoscopy considering the possibility of intestinal injury caused by multiple magnets. We found an internal fistula between the ileum and the ascending colon and multiple magnets in the fistula. In addition, there were two perforations in the ileum. The magnets were removed, and the fistula was closed. It is important to recognize that accidental ingestion of multiple magnets can lead to serious complications such as penetration or perforation of the bowel. If the symptoms are not severe, laparoscopic treatment is an option. It is also important to keep in mind that magnet ingestion may occur in older children due to the size of magnetic toys.
