An unusual foreign body migrating from pharynx to mediastinum

A case of a swallowed foreign body migrating from the pharynx into the soft tissues of the neck is presented, whose management was complicated by its undetected migration to the superior mediastinum occurring between radiological localization in the neck three days prior to exploration and its attempted removal. A median sternotomy was then required to retrieve the object. Radiological guidance with regard to the localization of a foreign body in the neck can only be relied on when performed immediately prior to surgical removal.