Foreign body (chicken bone) in oropharynx

Case contributed by Dario Giambelluca
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Foreign body sensation in the throat after eating chicken and swallowing a bone.

Patient Data

Age: 27
Gender: Male

No evidence on X-Ray imaging of foreign body in the gastro-intestinal system.

CT perfomed without IV contrast to help detect foreign body.

In correspondence of the left wall of the oropharynx, near the tonsillar region, you can appreciate a linear, hyperdense formation, with maximum diameter of 8 mm, to attribute to a foreign body.

Case Discussion

Most foreign body pass through the gastrointestinal tract without any consequence.

X-Ray is rarely helpful in making a diagnosis for small ingested items, instead a CT scan is more useful to detect foreign bodies or complications arising from them.

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