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Case Reports
. 2015 Jun;94(22):e943.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000000943.

Management of an ingested fish bone in the lung using video-assist thoracic surgery: a case report

Sichuang Tan  1 , Sipin Tan, Muyun Peng, Fenglei Yu
Affiliations
Case Reports

Management of an ingested fish bone in the lung using video-assist thoracic surgery: a case report

Sichuang Tan et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2015 Jun.

Abstract

We report a case of lung abscess caused by an ingested fish bone that was successfully treated by minimally invasive surgery. Although cases of ingested foreign body abscess are well reported, lung abscess caused by ingested fish bone is extremely rare. To date, less than 10 similar cases have been reported in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, the case presented in this case report is the first report of this kind that was successfully treated by video-assist thoracic surgery (VATS). A 47-year-old man was admitted to department of thoracic surgery with the complaint of continues dry cough and fever. The patient accidentally swallowed a long sharp-blade-shaped fish bone 20 days before, which perforated the upper thoracic esophagus on the right and embedded in the right upper lobe.The diagnosis was verified by computed tomography scan and a video-assist thoracic surgery procedure was successfully performed to treat the patient. The patient survived the esophageal perforation fortunately without involvement of great vessel injury and probable mediastinitis. This report may provide additional experience on lung abscess caused by ingested fish bones. However, it is also important to educate the public of the risks of trying to force an ingested object down into the stomach.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
(A and B) A 4-cm-long fish bone is shown embedded in the abscess in right upper lobe. (C) the group photo of the fish bone and the lung abscess.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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