A Case of Perforation of the Small Intestine Caused by a Spoon Which Was Mistakenly Swallowed in Childhood and Stayed in the Gastrointestinal Tract for a Long Time

Abstract

A 37-year-old woman consulted our hospital due to sudden right lower abdominal pain. As a result of the investigation, it was diagnosed as perforative peritonitis and liver abscess caused by a gastrointestinal foreign body. We performed emergency surgery. A corroded spoon in the jejunum was observed and the handle of the spoon had penetrated the intestinal wall. The intestinal perforation was caused by accidental ingestion of a spoon. Partial resection of the jejunum was performed, and the patient was discharged on the 17th postoperative day. The liver abscess was considered to be the result of duodenal penetration by a spoon, but it disappeared with the administration of antibiotics. Foreign bodies, such as spoons, are usually accompanied by awareness when they are swallowed. In a case with a history of mental illness, it is possible to swallow something unawares. This case had no awareness that she had swallowed the spoon by mistake, and there was no history of mental illness. From the shape and state of the spoon, it was thought that the spoon had been swallowed by mistake in infancy and had remained in the gastrointestinal tract for a long time without affecting the body, and led eventually to the present condition.