Case Report
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Nov 16, 2010; 2(11): 372-374
Published online Nov 16, 2010. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v2.i11.372
Endoscopic extraction of a metal key impacted within the appendix
Charalampos Pilichos, Georgios Tasias, Emmanouil Pyleris, Nikolaos Anyfantis, Nikolaos Pantelaros, Charalampos Barbatzas
Charalampos Pilichos, Georgios Tasias, Emmanouil Pyleris, Nikolaos Anyfantis, Nikolaos Pantelaros, Charalampos Barbatzas, Endoscopy Unit, Sismanogleion General Hospital, Sismanogleiou 1, Marousi 15126, Greece
Author contributions: Pilichos C, Tasias G, Pyleris E, Anyfantis N, Pantelaros N, and Barbatzas C contributed equally to this paper.
Correspondence to: Charalampos Pilichos, MD, PhD, Sismanogleion General Hospital, Sismanogleiou 1, Marousi 15126, Greece. hpilichos@hotmail.com
Telephone: +30-210-8234357 Fax: +30-210-8234508
Received: July 29, 2010
Revised: October 26, 2010
Accepted: November 2, 2010
Published online: November 16, 2010
Abstract

Ingested foreign bodies are rarely impacted in the appendix. They may be clinically latent or cause complications such as appendicitis or intestinal perforation, thus requiring prompt and appropriate therapy. A case is reported of a psychiatric, but in other respects asymptomatic, patient who presented with an ingested metal key deeply impacted within the appendix. The patient underwent urgent coloscopy for retrieval. Initially all conventional endoscopic instruments proved ineffective and the key was finally extracted using a simple manoeuvre, described herein.

Keywords: Foreign body; Ingested; Appendix; Impaction; Endoscopic extraction