Miscellaneous Foreign Bodies

by Tim B. Hunter, MD and Mihra S. Taljanovic, MD, PhD

The following tables contain a miscellaneous assortment of foreign bodies. They supplement those shown in the Foreign Body essays, and the same principles apply to them. These tables will be periodically updated with new additions. We welcome submissions from interested viewers of this website.

Miscellaneous foreign bodies on the patient or in the patient's clothing

Cell phone in a patient's shirt pocket	Eyeglasses	Inhaler in shirt pocket	Moles simulating foreign bodies
			From Hunter, 1994
Necklace	Multiple objects in pant pockets	Tongue ring which showed on odontoid view of a cervical spine series	Injured large toe with pulse oximater placed on same toe!
Note right axillary arterial stent (arrow)			There is a fracture of the distal phalanx of the large toe and a fracture of the distal phalanx of the fourth toe.
Small "calcification" on a trauma knee series (arrow) turns out to have been a rock in the patient's pants.		Ice bags were put on an injured hand in the Emergency Department
Injured right index finger with pulse oximeter on injured finger and IV line in injured hand!	Handcuffs	Hearing aids
There is a fracture of the proximal phalanx of the index finger.	Prisoner from county jail with radiography for right wrist injury.	Lateral radiograph of the cervical spine shows a hearing aid with a behind the ear compartment containing a battery (arrow), microphone, and amplifier. The ear mold has been removed. From Yoshino, 1994	These hearing aids incorporate the microphone, battery, and amplifier into the ear molds (arrows). This is an old image and more modern hearing aids are smaller and more contained. From Yoshino, 1994
Wound Vac		Artificial fingernails
The Wound Vac is treating infected tissue overlying metatarsal stumps.

Miscellaneous Foreign Body Ingestions

Swallowed filling in right colon	Infant who swallowed a paper claps which became lodged in the hypopharynx		Young child who swallowed a ring
25 year-old schizophrenic chemist who ingested lead nitrate. He recovered from the poisoning and was hospitalized for treatment of his schizophrenia. (Courtesy David Vanderkin, MD)	Patient who swallowed a toothbrush. The bristles of the toothbrush are radio-opaque.	Patient who accidentally swallowed her tongue ring	Child who swallowed a baby tooth
Knot in a feeding tube	Coin lodged above an esophageal stricture		Fishhooks impacted in the duodenum
	18 month boy who was having difficulty keeping his food down and had a history of tracheoesophageal (TE) fistula repair. A coin is lodged in his proximal esophagus above a stricture at the site of his TE fistula repair. From Hunter, 2003. Permission granted for use of images in this article by Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)		29 year-old man who swallowed fishhooks as a bet. He wrapped them in tape for protection. They impacted in the duodenum and produced a 2 mm puncture in the IVC. The skin staples are from bowel surgery two months prior.
Fishhooks impacted in the duodenum - CT images
29 year-old man who swallowed fishhooks as a bet. He wrapped them in tape for protection. They impacted in the duodenum and produced a 2 mm puncture in the IVC. The CT images show the hooks partially outside the duodenum (arrow).

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