302 Migratory Foreign Body in The Neck- How A Fishbone Morphed into A Piece of Glass In 18 Months

Background

Foreign body (FB) ingestion is a common presentation to ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeons. Usual culprits include fish or chicken bones, steak, or non-organic items. FBs can be categorised into batteries, hard objects, and soft boluses. Hard objects that have not passed beyond the post-cricoid region require removal to minimise perforation risk. In rare cases FBs are reported to migrate extra-luminally into surrounding tissues of the neck necessitating cross-sectional imaging ahead of neck exploration.

Case Report

A 70-year-old lady presented to A&E with a sensation of FBs in her throat. She was aphagic without dyspnoea. Home-cooked fish ingestion was the precursor. Panendoscopy was clear. The patient was discharged once tolerating fluids and soft diet. She presented 14 months later to the ENT clinic with a persistent FB sensation in her throat. A computed-tomography scan of neck showed a right sided, radio-opaque, 3 cm foreign body sitting just anterior to the carotid sheath, behind the right superior thyroid lobe. An elective external neck exploration revealed a 3 cm shard of glass which was successfully removed without complications.

Conclusions

Extra-luminal migration of FBs is extremely rare. They may present with life-threatening suppurative or vascular complications. A literature review revealed that migratory FBs tend to be sharp and long such as needles, wires, or fishbones. To allow prompt diagnosis and management, we propose a low threshold for CT imaging in instances with a clear history and persistent symptoms even when panendoscopy is negative.