台耳醫誌

A foreign body in the pharynx or cervical esophagus usually presents with an acute symptom of odynophagia or dysphagia. The migration of a foreign body to the adjacent structures or the external skin may occur as a late complication, especially if the initial workup misses its presence. Migrated foreign bodies are usually fish bones as these have sharp ends. Serious complications may occur depending on the track the foreign body makes. We report the case of a 57-year-old male, who had a history of cervical spine surgery and complained of dysphagia after the accidental ingestion of a fish bone. Computed tomography (CT) performed after 4 days revealed a fish bone penetrating from the cervical esophagus to the neck. The transcervical open approach was taken to remove the fish bone after the failure of rigid and fiberoptic esophagoscopy. We noted that the key point of using a rigid esophagoscope is the ability to hyperextend the neck.
(J Taiwan Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2021; 56:103-107)