Fish bone-related intra-abdominal abscess in an elderly patient

Foreign body ingestion is not an uncommon problem encountered in clinical practice. The accidental ingestion of fish bones may sometimes lead to penetration injuries with complicating abscess formation. The ingestion of foreign bodies results in gastrointestinal perforation in about 1% of patients. Fish bones are the most commonly seen objects leading to bowel perforation. Fish bones are usually invisible on plain films. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen is helpful to determine the cause of unexplained and persistent abdominal pain. If encapsulated abscess formation cannot be completely resolved by CT-guided drainage, surgical intervention should proceed to prevent profound sepsis. We present the case of a 75-year-old man who had fever and left lower abdominal pain. CT showed a hypodense lesion with a linear foreign body in the abdomen. An intra-abdominal abscess was diagnosed and after surgical intervention, a foreign body, which proved to be a fish bone, was removed. The man could not remember swallowing this bone.