Laparoscopic removal of a metallic foreign body embedded in the abdominal wall

We report the laparoscopic removal of a foreign body that was embedded in the abdominal wall. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a foreign body in the abdominal wall being laparoscopically removed. A 27-year-old man working at a forging factory presented to our hospital with abdominal pain. He reported that three hours before presentation, a metal fragment came flying from an operating power hammer and penetrated his lower right abdomen. Abdominal CT revealed a 7 mm-sized radiopaque object near the peritoneum. The foreign body was successfully removed laparoscopically with real-time fluoroscopic guidance. Percutaneous removal is usually performed when a foreign body is present in the soft tissue; however, laparoscopic removal should be considered when the foreign body is located in the abdominal wall near the peritoneum. We provide principles for the safe and minimally invasive removal of foreign bodies based on this case.