Chicken bone as a culprit in laparoscopic emergency: A rare case report

Abstract

Background: An ingested foreign body often passes the gastrointestinal (GI) tract without any complications. Foreign bodies such as dentures, fish bones, chicken bones and toothpicks have been known to cause perforation of the Gl tract. The lack of reported ingestion and the difficulty in detecting chicken bones preoperatively highlight the importance of considering this etiology in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen.

Case Presentation: We herein present a case of a 67-year-old female who presented to emergency with features of acute peritonitis. On evaluation by Computerized tomography scan abdomen she was diagnosed to have perforative peritonitis caused secondary to accidental chicken bone ingestion. On diagnostic laparoscopy, there was minimal peritoneal contamination with chicken bone protruding into the peritoneal cavity through the perforation site. She underwent laparoscopic retrieval of the chicken bone with closure of jejunal perforation in single layer. She was started orally on the 1st post operative day and discharged on the 2nd day.

Conclusion: Intestinal perforation by a chicken bone is a rare condition, typically affecting the left colon or distal ileum. The rarity in our case was the jejunal perforation by ingested chicken bone causing perforative peritonitis and was successfully treated using laparoscopic approach. This demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of minimally invasive surgery in managing such rare emergency presentations of acute abdomen.