Intestinal perforation secondary to ingested chicken bone: case report and literature review

Foreign body ingestion is usual in daily life, particularly prevalent in the pediatric population and the elderly, but it can also occur in adults due to eating quickly or inadequate mastication. Most foreign bodies can pass through the gastrointestinal tract spontaneously without intervention. However, hard and sharp foreign bodies may penetrate through gastric and duodenal walls. Small bowel perforation caused by chicken bones is rare in clinical practice. It presents no specific symptoms and causing diagnosis delayed. Endoscopy is limited for foreign bodies in the lower gastrointestinal tract, while abdominal computed tomography (CT) plays a key role in detecting radiopaque foreign bodies and related complications. In terms of treatment, laparoscopic surgery has become an optimal choice for foreign body extraction given its advantages of minimal trauma, clear visualization, and rapid postoperative recovery. Here, we report the diagnosis and management of a 28-year-old male with a acute small bowel perforation caused by an ingested chicken bone fragment. The patient initially presented with oropharyngeal discomfort during chicken consumption, but initial laryngoscopic evaluation revealed no abnormalities. Within hours, he developed progressive, non-resolving abdominal pain, prompting further investigation with abdominal computed tomography (CT), which identified a hyperdense linear object within the distal ileum, consistent with foreign body perforation. The patient underwent successful laparoscopic extraction of the chicken bone fragment with primary repair of the perforation site, experiencing an uneventful recovery and discharge on postoperative day 7.