A magnet foreign body in the vermiform process in a child aged two years and eight months

BACKGROUND: Foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract is a fairly common pathology in pediatric surgery. The proportion of all cases is about 80%; in 20% of cases, foreign bodies can stuck in the physiological colon narrowings and in 0.005% — in the appendix. It is thought that magnetic foreign bodies pose a danger, if they are two or more because they can be attracted to each other at different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. A foreign body can get into the vermiform process, if its mass exceeds the mass of caecum content. Under the gravity mechanism, the foreign body penetrates into the dilated appendix lumen, but lumen peristalsis may not be strong enough to push it back into the large intestine. Swallowed foreign bodies may be asymptomatic in the vermiform process, and can manifest clinically as the inflammation either after few hours or after many years.

CLINICAL CASE DESCRIPTION: In patient X., aged 2 years and 8 months, a magnet foreign body (a piece of magnetic pen) got into the vermiform process. The independent discharge of this object was under control, but no results. Patient's general state was satisfactory. No pathologies were observed in organs and systems. After a series of X-ray examinations of the abdominal organs, suspicion appeared that this foreign body was in the appendix. Diagnostic laparoscopy with intraoperative radiography and then laparoscopic appendectomy were performed. Macropreparation: unchanged vermiform process 6 cm long. The appendix lumen was opened, a foreign body was found — a magnetic rod with size 0.5 cm x 0.2 cm.

CONCLUSION: The postoperative period was uneventful. The child was discharged from the hospital in the recovering state after the performed surgical intervention — an elective laparoscopic appendectomy.