Use of a Defibrillator Magnet to Extract Multiple Ingested Sharp Iron Objects from the Stomach at Laparotomy

This paper describes a technique for safely removing sharp ingested ferrous-based objects from the stomach at the time of laparotomy. It consists of a case report of a patient with psychiatric issues. He presented to our emergency department on several occasions after eating multiple foreign objects. Due to the large amount of ingested items, they could not be removed via the endoscope, therefore requiring laparotomy. A serious issue presenting to the surgeon and surgical team is puncture of surgical gloves and possible injury to the operating staff’s hands during extraction of sharp objects. This technique describes using a defibrillator magnet placed into a sterile specimen bag that is then inserted into a gastrotomy incision to remove any iron-based ingested sharps. As many ingested sharps such as needles, tacks, nails, screws and pins are ferrous-based, this technique is very useful and efficient.