Conservative management of razor blade ingestion

A 30-year-old woman presented to the emergency department complaining of abdominal discomfort. An abdominal radiograph was done, revealing ten rectangular razor blades measuring 5 × 2 cm. The patient was taken to the operating room and a flexible esophago-gastroduodenoscopy was performed. Attempts at retrieval, using both a gastric overtube and an inverted hood, were unsuccessful due to the shape and size of the blades. She was transferred to a regular medical floor and managed conservatively with serial abdominal radiographs. Over the next week, she passed the razor blades transanally without further event-all were still wrapped in paper and chewing gum-and was cleared to be discharged home.