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Updated: Apr 7, 2026

Handheld Metal Detector Screening for Metallic Foreign Body Ingestion in Children
Published on: September 11, 2018
Liver perforation following foreign body ingestion: an important clinical lesson
Gareth Martel1, Dorothy Johnston1, Claire Jones1
1Department of General Surgery, Mater Hospital, Belfast, UK.
Abstract:
A 25-year-old woman presented to the surgical unit with a 1-week history of ingestion of a pen. Examination revealed a minimally tender epigastrium with no peritonism. Investigations were unremarkable, with normal bloods and no free air on erect chest radiograph. At the time of endoscopy, the pen appeared to have perforated the lesser curve of the stomach. Endoscopic extraction was abandoned and a CT arranged, revealing the tip of the pen lying within the left lobe of the liver. The pen was removed at laparotomy with an uneventful recovery. This case highlights the importance of considering the potential for injury to other structures following gastric perforation, and the importance of having a low threshold for further imaging.
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