Management and Retrieval of An Accidental Postoperative Ingestion of Tongue Piercing

Foreign body ingestion mostly occurs in children, but also occasionally in adults with mental or developmental disorders, or alcohol dependence. Although most foreign bodies pass through the gastrointestinal tract and defecate naturally, endoscopic intervention is recommended for sharp and pointed objects due to high risk of perforation. The patient was a 19-year-old woman with no underlying mental nor developmental disorders who accidentally swallowed her tongue piercing attempting to reinsert it while recovering from sedation after surgery under general anesthesia. We carefully monitored her with daily abdominal X-rays from the first postoperative day expecting it to pass with natural defecation. However, it remained lodged in the ileocecal region from the second to third postoperative day and was safely retrieved with colonoscopy. Her subsequent course was uneventful without any complications. In Japan, tongue piercings are still not popular, and risks are still largely unknown. In case of accidental ingestion, careful monitoring with abdominal X-rays is important for timely endoscopic or surgical intervention.

Keywords: Foreign body; ingestion; tongue piercing

Abbreviations: BMI: Body mass index