Magnets, children and the bowel: A dangerous attraction?

Figure 1 Symptoms may vary from totally asymptomatic or an unrelated pain to a mild flu-like illness with nonspecific symptoms of nausea, vomiting, cramps, or abdominal pain, to features of bowel obstruction or localized peritonitis. A: Magnetic cause for an acute appendicitis in an 8-year-old child; B: Laparotomy for peritonitis showed small bowel fistulation caused by two magnets.