Impacted woodstick needles in the antrum: a unique foreign body

Three cases of impaction and penetration of a unique type of foreign body in the gastric antrum are reported. The foreign body-woodstick needles-used to staple leaves together to produce disposable leaf-plates (khalli-patra) was accidentally swallowed with food and presented as a case of acute abdomen. Awareness of this possibility is essential for a timely diagnosis in regions where the practice of using khalli-patra is in vogue, particularly eastern India.