Background:
A child swallowing a long metallic spoon is an extremely rare phenomenon. Foreign bodies longer than 6 cm are unlikely to pass through the gastrointestinal tract spontaneously and require endoscopic or surgical removal in order to avoid associated complications, such as visceral perforations.
Case details:
A 13-year-old child presented with accidental swallowing of a metallic spoon 10 days prior to hospital admission. He had history of loss of appetite, epigastric and left upper quadrant abdominal pain and started to have high grade intermittent fever 11 days after swallowing the spoon. A plain abdominal radiograph revealed a metallic spoon in the mid-abdomen. An exploratory laparotomy revealed an 11 cm long metallic spoon impacted at the duodeno-jejunal junction with walled off perforation and erosion of the mesentery of the colon. The metallic spoon was removed and the perforated site was repaired. The surgery was smooth and the patient recovered fully and was discharged seven days post-operation.
Conclusion:
A swallowed long metallic spoon is unlikely to pass spontaneously and should be removed as soon as possible in order to avoid associated complications like impaction, perforation and subsequent peritonitis.