Endoscopic removal of metal foreign bodies by magnet: case report

The number of children swallowing magnetic foreign bodies has been a significantly high for the past decades, increasingly needing endoscopic or surgical interventions.

Case report. In our observation, a 12-year-old girl swallowed magnetic balls from children’s designer 10 days prior to hospital admission. Foreign bodies (5 balls) were found during X-ray examination in the projection of the cecum. Conservative therapy carried out for 4 days had no success, thus colonoscopy was performed to remove foreign bodies. Foreign bodies were fixed to the intestinal wall, and attempts to separate them were unsuccessful. When a medical magnet was placed outside the body in the right iliac region, a chain of magnetic balls detached from the intestinal wall and made it possible to be captured in a trap loop and be removed. The girl avoided a laparotomy with an opening of the colon.

Conclusion. External use of a medical magnet is effective for navigation and assistance during colonoscopic extraction when magnetic foreign bodies are found in the colon.