Esophageal Foreign Body: A Case Report

Foreign body ingestion is a commonly seen medical emergency in children. Retropharyngeal abscess and mediastinitis are well-documented complications from foreign body ingestion, which reflects the importance of early diagnosis. The neck radiograph is the most significant radiographic examination performed in a child with a suspected pharyngeal lesion. We report a case where the initial malpositioned lateral view neck radiograph failed to detect a potentially serious esophageal foreign body. A second lateral view neck radiograph discovered a mass of foreign body in the upper esophagus, which was found to be a chicken bone during surgery. The case suggests that a properly positioned neck radiograph is the most important examination in the initial evaluation of a child with suspected foreign body ingestion.