PMC4009138_01
A 38-year-old woman with cervical pain and difficulty swallowing after accidentally ingesting a foreign body (FB) 2 h previously. a-c Plain transverse images showing the FB in the cervical esophagus (arrow), d sagittal multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) clearly revealing an oblique radio-opaque linear FB approximately 2.8 cm long located in the cervical esophagus in front of the sixth cervical vertebra (C6), with the long axes of the FB and esophagus making an angle of approximately 13 , e coronal MPR revealing that the FB had traversed the right wall of the esophagus
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Fig1
The long axes of the FB and esophagus formed an angle of approximately 13  (Fig. 1).
A plain radiograph showing a linear hyperdense area (arrow) in front of the C7 and T1 bodies: a sagittal image, b coronal image
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Fig2
However, a plain radiograph revealed a linear hyperdense mass in front of the C7 and T1 bodies (Fig. 2).
The day after ingestion. A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a linear hyperdensity located next to the esophageal lumen, indicating that the FB had penetrated the esophageal wall. a-c Plain transverse images revealing the FB (arrow) in the cervical esophagus, d sagittal MPR revealing that the FB had moved downward and was now in front of C7, with its long axis paralleling the longitudinal esophageal axis, e coronal MPR revealing that the FB had moved into the right paraesophageal adipose space and that its long axis now paralleled the esophageal longitudinal axis
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Fig3
A subsequent CT scan of the neck the next day showed that the FB had penetrated the esophageal wall (Fig. 3a, b, c). Its long axis now paralleled that of the esophagus (Fig. 3d, e).
Transverse imaging at 10 days after ingestion revealing a linear hyperdense area (arrow) located behind and at the level of the right thyroid gland (a-e)
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Fig4
Ten days after ingestion, a CT scan indicated that the FB had migrated to near the right thyroid gland (Fig. 4).
Intraoperative photograph of the FB extraction (a). A fine wire (arrows), measuring 2.8 cm in length, was identified behind the right thyroid gland (b)
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Fig5
Based on the CT findings, the right thyroid gland was exposed and carefully pulled upward; the FB, a fine wire measuring 2.8 cm in length, was located just behind it (Fig. 5).