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Updated: Oct 16, 2025
Handheld Metal Detector Screening for Metallic Foreign Body Ingestion in Children
Published on: September 11, 2018
Swallowed Metallic Spoon Causing Doudeno-Jejunal Junction Perforation in a 13-Year-Old Child: Case Report
Seifu Alemu1, Nebiyou S Bayileyegn1, Melkamu Berhane Arefayine2
1Department of Surgery, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Insights
A rare case of a child swallowing a long metallic spoon highlights the need for prompt removal. Surgical intervention prevented serious complications like perforation and peritonitis.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Gastroenterology
- Foreign Body Ingestion
Background:
- Swallowing long foreign bodies, especially metallic spoons, is rare in children.
- Objects exceeding 6 cm often require intervention to prevent gastrointestinal complications.
Observation:
- A 13-year-old presented with abdominal pain and fever 10 days after swallowing an 11 cm metallic spoon.
- Radiography confirmed the spoon's location in the mid-abdomen.
- Laparotomy revealed impaction at the duodeno-jejunal junction with perforation and mesenteric erosion.
Findings:
- Surgical removal of the metallic spoon was successful.
- Repair of the perforated duodenal site was performed.
- The child recovered fully with no immediate post-operative complications.
Implications:
- Early surgical or endoscopic removal of long metallic spoons is crucial.
- Prompt intervention minimizes risks of impaction, perforation, and peritonitis.
- This case underscores the importance of timely management for ingested foreign bodies.
Background:
A child swallowing a long metallic spoon is an extremely rare phenomenon. Foreign bodies longer than 6 cm are unlikely to pass through the gastrointestinal tract spontaneously and require endoscopic or surgical removal in order to avoid associated complications, such as visceral perforations.
Case Details:
A 13-year-old child presented with accidental swallowing of a metallic spoon 10 days prior to hospital admission. He had history of loss of appetite, epigastric and left upper quadrant abdominal pain and started to have high grade intermittent fever 11 days after swallowing the spoon. A plain abdominal radiograph revealed a metallic spoon in the mid-abdomen. An exploratory laparotomy revealed an 11 cm long metallic spoon impacted at the duodeno-jejunal junction with walled off perforation and erosion of the mesentery of the colon. The metallic spoon was removed and the perforated site was repaired. The surgery was smooth and the patient recovered fully and was discharged seven days post-operation.
Conclusion:
A swallowed long metallic spoon is unlikely to pass spontaneously and should be removed as soon as possible in order to avoid associated complications like impaction, perforation and subsequent peritonitis.
