Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 May 16;11(14):3256-3260.
doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i14.3256.

Intragastric fish bones migrate into the liver: A case report

Mu-Gen Dai  1 , Jing-Jing Zheng  2 , Jie Yang  3 , Bin Ye  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Intragastric fish bones migrate into the liver: A case report

Mu-Gen Dai et al. World J Clin Cases. .

Abstract

Background: A foreign body in the digestive tract is a common disease in the clinic. However, it is rare for a foreign body to migrate into the liver. Most patients are diagnosed before or after perforation of the digestive tract. Laparoscopic removal of intrahepatic foreign bodies is an effective treatment method.

Case summary: A 55-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital due to fever for 3 d, in addition to pain and discomfort in the right side of his waist. After admission, abdominal computed tomography showed a foreign body in the liver, and gastroscopy did not indicate obvious erosion or ulcers. The patient then underwent laparoscopic surgery. During the operation, an abscess was seen near the gastric antrum and between the caudate lobes of the liver. It was approximately 30 mm × 31 mm × 23 mm in size. The abscess was cut open, and a fish bone was found inside. The fish bone had penetrated the liver and was successfully removed. It was confirmed that the fish bone migrated from the stomach to the liver.

Conclusion: Although intrahepatic foreign bodies are rare, they should be diagnosed and treated as early as possible to avoid serious complications such as intrahepatic abscess, which may lead to liver resection and even life-threatening events.

Keywords: Case report; Foreign body; Intrahepatic; Migrate; Stomach.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Contrast-enhanced computed tomography. A: Gastric perforation caused by a foreign body in the stomach (arrow); B: The foreign body in the stomach had penetrated the liver (arrow).
Figure 2
Figure 2
No obvious erosion or ulcers of the gastric mucosa was found during gastroscopy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chintamani , Singhal V, Lubhana P, Durkhere R, Bhandari S. Liver abscess secondary to a broken needle migration--a case report. BMC Surg . 2003;3:8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sobnach S, Castillo F, Blanco Vinent R, Kahn D, Bhyat A. Penetrating cardiac injury following sewing needle ingestion. Heart Lung Circ. 2011;20:479–481. - PubMed
    1. Burkholder R, Samant H. Management of Fish Bone-Induced Liver Abscess with Foreign Body Left In Situ. Case Reports Hepatol. 2019;2019:9075198. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Subasinghe D, Jayasinghe R, Kodithuwakku U, Fernandopulle N. Hepatic abscess following foreign body perforation of the colon: A case report. SAGE Open Med Case Rep. 2022;10:2050313X221103357. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yan TD, Leung PHY, Zwirewich C, Harris A, Chartier-Plante S. An unusual cause of pericardial effusion: A case report of a hepatic abscess following foreign body migration and duodenal perforation. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2022;93:106931. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types