Case Report
Copyright ©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 16, 2013; 1(7): 212-216
Published online Oct 16, 2013. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v1.i7.212
Ingested bone fragment in the bowel: Two cases and a review of the literature
Seyfi Emir, Zeynep Özkan, Hasan Baki Altınsoy, Fatih Mehmet Yazar, Selim Sözen, İlhan Bali
Seyfi Emir, Selim Sözen, İlhan Bali, Department of General Surgery, Medical Faculty, Namık Kemal University, 59000 Tekirdağ, Turkey
Zeynep Özkan, Fatih Mehmet Yazar, Department of General Surgery, Elazıg Training and Research Hospital, 23000 Elazığ, Turkey
Hasan Baki Altınsoy, Department of Radiology, Elazıg Training and Research Hospital, 23000 Elazığ, Turkey
Author contributions: Emir S, Özkan Z, Yazar FM and Altinsoy HB co-ordinated and provided the collection of all the material in addition to providing financial support for this work; Emir S, Özkan Z and Sözen S designed the study and wrote the manuscript; Bali İ checked and revised the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Selim Sözen, MD, Department of General Surgery, Medical Faculty, Namik Kemal University, 59000 Tekirdağ, Turkey. selimsozen63@yahoo.com
Telephone: +90-282-2505500 Fax: +90-282-2509928
Received: May 2, 2013
Revised: July 29, 2013
Accepted: August 12, 2013
Published online: October 16, 2013
Processing time: 187 Days and 8.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: The ingested bone fragment may cause bowel perforation at any site from the jejunum to anal margin, obstruction and fistula formation. An experienced clinician should suspect such conditions in the presence of some predisposing factors, such as rapid eating and the use of dentures in the elderly, and should consider various surgical options. We report herein two cases, one of bowel perforation and another of anal impaction, both caused by ingested bone fragments. Complications due to ingested bone fragments are not common and preoperative diagnosis remains a challenge and therefore it must be considered in susceptible cases.