A case of migratory fish bone in the thyroid gland
Introduction
Fish-bone foreign bodies are usually found in the pharynx, and in most cases are easily removed. Location of a fish-bone foreign body outside the pharynx is relatively rare. We report herein a case of migratory fish bone in the thyroid gland that was removed through a cervical skin incision. The diagnosis and treatment of extrapharyngeal foreign bodies are also discussed.
Section snippets
Case report
A 61-year-old woman presented to the ENT outpatient clinic complaining of dysphagia. Past medical history included adenomatous goiter. Thyroid function was within normal limits and no treatment had been administered. The patient reported that dysphagia developed shortly after eating fish. No pathological findings were seen in the oral cavity or pharynx on direct visualization or fiberscopic examination. Plain-film lateral radiography of the neck revealed no abnormalities (Fig. 1A). The patient
Discussion
Fish-bone foreign bodies are a common finding. In most cases, bones are readily identified in the palatine tonsil, radix linguae or hypopharynx, and are subsequently removed through the oral cavity. Fish-bone foreign bodies penetrating into the extrapharyngeal space are relatively rare, and most are identified in retropharyngeal soft tissues such as the peripharyngeal muscles, prevertebral space or prevertebral muscle. Forward movement of the foreign body into the pharynx is quite unusual, as
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2022, American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and SurgeryCitation Excerpt :Physical examination and endoscopy, including laryngoscopy and oesophagoscopy, are negative but computed tomography (CT) or ultrasonography display its presence extraluminally. The migratory foreign bodies can also cause a series of complications, such as cervical abscess, thyroid abscess, and et al., which can be life-threatening [1–3]. Therefore, enough attention should be paid to the complications caused by migratory pharyngeal foreign body.
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2021, American Journal of Emergency MedicineCitation Excerpt :However, according to previous reports, there are some rare complications and even life-threatening. For example, the displacement of fish bone can lead to the injury of thyroid, liver, pancreas, and may be misdiagnosed as tumor [59-62]. Cases of pericardial hematocele, pericarditis and pseudoaneurysm have also been reported [63-65].
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