Image-guided Percutaneous Transhepatic Removal of Fish Bone from Liver Abscess

Abstract

We present a case of a woman who was diagnosed with a hepatic abscess secondary to a migrated fish bone.  As the patient did not improve after percutaneous drainage of the abscess, image-guided percutaneous transhepatic removal of the fish bone was performed.  Fish bones in hepatic abscesses are typically removed surgically, with the fish bone left in situ in a number of cases.  There has been only another reported case of percutaneous transhepatic fish bone removal.  We conclude that in the rare case of a hepatic abscess complicating fish bone migration, image-guided percutaneous transhepatic removal of the offending foreign body is a feasible alternative to surgery, especially in high surgical risk patients.