Conservative management of razor blade ingestion

A 30-year-old woman presented to the emergency department complaining of abdominal discomfort. An abdominal radiograph was done, revealing ten rectangular razor blades measuring 5 × 2 cm. The patient was taken to the operating room and a flexible esophago-gastroduodenoscopy was performed. Attempts at retrieval, using both a gastric overtube and an inverted hood, were unsuccessful due to the shape and size of the blades. She was transferred to a regular medical floor and managed conservatively with serial abdominal radiographs. Over the next week, she passed the razor blades transanally without further event—all were still wrapped in paper and chewing gum—and was cleared to be discharged home.