Aspirated safety pin requiring thoracotomy: report of a case and review

Foreign body aspirations in children are relatively uncommon occurrences, but they can be a serious events, causing respiratory distress, atelectasis, chronic pulmonary infections, or death. Safety pins are not commonly aspirated objects and account for less than 3% of all foreign bodies found in the tracheobronchial tree. Fewer than 2% of patients require thoracotomy, and most aspirated materials can be removed by bronchoscopy, with low morbidity and mortality. A discussion of airway foreign bodies follows the presentation of a case of an older child who aspirated a safety pin, which required open thoracostomy for removal.