Button battery ingestion: hazards of esophageal impaction

Ingestion of button batteries has been seen with increasing frequency over the past decade. In a small number of reported cases, their impaction in the esophagus has led to serious, sometimes fatal, complications. The management of these cases has varied from expectant, supportive therapy to early surgical intervention. The authors report 2 pediatric patients in whom esophageal perforation developed after impaction of a disc battery. Both were treated conservatively with successful outcomes.