Inhaled open safety pin: a challenging case

Foreign body aspiration in children, specifically sharp and metallic type, imposes a serious morbidity and mortality risk if intervention is delayed. The bronchoscopic removal of sharp metallic foreign bodies is technically challenging for the operating surgeon. We present a case of an 8-year-old girl who presented with an alleged history of aspiration of metallic, sharp and open safety pin 8 hours prior to presentation following which she developed throat pain and painful swallowing. X-ray of soft tissue neck showed a radio-opaque foreign body being lodged in the supraglottic area. She underwent emergency direct laryngoscopy-guided foreign body removal under general anesthesia. There was an open metallic sharp safety pin hinged over the inter-arytenoid region with its one end reaching sub-glottis and other end toward the hypopharynx. No post-operative complications occurred and patient was discharged on the third post-operative day.