Background:
Ingestion cases are increasing in elderly persons. Herein, we report a rare case of ingestion of a safety pin by an elderly person.
Case presentation:
The patient was an 87-year-old bedridden woman who had fever with left pleural effusion. Chest X-ray revealed a foreign body, confirmed to be a safety pin, in the cervical esophagus. A contrast multidetector row computed tomography scan revealed that the opened safety pin penetrated the left subclavian artery, leading to the diagnosis of an esophageal foreign body penetrating the left subclavian artery. The safety pin was removed, and the subclavian artery aneurysm caused by the penetration was embolized by interventional radiology. After treatment, she was returned to the nursing home on postoperative day 8.
Conclusion:
Penetration by ingestion of a safety pin is rare; in this case, safe treatment was possible due to a team of certified specialist physicians and surgeons.