Abstract.
An unusual case of a toothpick perforating the stomach, then penetrating the liver, and thereafter forming a liver abscess is reported. A 48-year-old woman who had ingested a toothpick 1 month earlier was admitted to our hospital because of severe epigastralgia which had progressively worsened. A laparotomy was performed because a granulomatous abscess in the liver due to this ingested foreign body was suspected. We found a granulomatous abscess in the liver due to the penetration of the toothpick through the stomach. The toothpick had become completely embedded about 2 cm deep in the left lobe of the liver. When dissecting the tumor, a 5.5-cm toothpick was removed, and a partial lateral resection of the liver was performed. The histological diagnosis was a hepatic abscess with granulomatous change. This was a rare case of a migration of an ingested toothpick into the liver through the stomach.
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Received: August 1, 2001 / Accepted: March 5, 2002
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Kanazawa, S., Ishigaki, K., Miyake, T. et al. A Granulomatous Liver Abscess Which Developed After a Toothpick Penetrated the Gastrointestinal Tract: Report of a Case. Surg Today 33, 312–314 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s005950300071
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s005950300071