Fishbone Perforated Appendicitis

Abstract

Ingested foreign bodies tend to pass through the gastrointestinal tract without incidence, and vast majority of cases do not need intervention. Rarely, these foreign bodies drop into the appendix and not likely to re-enter the normal digestive tract. We describe a case of a 72-year-old male patient who presented with right iliac fossa pain of 3-day duration. Clinical examination suggested classic acute appendicitis. Blood test results revealed leukocytosis. Computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis showed evidence of acute appendicitis and a linear hyperdensity (foreign body) perforating the appendix. The patient was managed successfully with prompt laparoscopic appendectomy and removal of the foreign body which was confirmed to be a fish bone measuring about 10mm. While imaging diagnosis of fishbone in the appendix has been published, reports are few. To the best of the author's knowledge, fishbone induced perforated appendicitis has been described only in 2 cases (including this case) in the literature.