2024 Volume 60 Issue 1 Pages 57-61
A three-year-old boy was brought to an emergency hospital because of vomiting. His mother noticed that he had bitten off his father’s magnetic necklace. Abdominal X-rays revealed that two foreign bodies, measuring 6 mm in diameter, suspected of being magnets from the necklace, were attached to each other in the upper abdomen. The patient’s general condition was stable, and outpatient follow-up was performed. However, the foreign bodies were not excreted, so the patient was referred to our hospital for endoscopic removal 15 days after ingestion. On the basis of the findings of serial X-rays and computed tomography performed at the previous hospital, gastroduodenal penetration was suspected. Therefore, one day after the referral, we performed upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and laparoscopic surgery. Endoscopy revealed no foreign bodies in the stomach, but an ulcer scar was found on the posterior wall of the antrum of the stomach. On laparoscopy, the posterior wall of the stomach and the ascending part of the duodenum were found to adhere to each other. Two encapsulated magnets were located between the two tracts and were successfully removed laparoscopically. Endoscopy confirmed the absence of fistula formation, allowing the operation to be completed with minimal detachment of adhesions and covering of the omentum. By endoscopy in conjunction with laparoscopy, we were able to reduce the degree of surgical invasiveness.
