Multiple Magnet Ingestion leading to Bowel Perforation: A Relatively Sinister Foreign Body

Abstract

Foreign body ingestion is a common reason for seeking emergency care among children. One of the more serious foreign bodies are the ingestion of multiple magnets or concurrent ingestion of a magnet and a metallic foreign body. Conservative management with serial imaging can be misleading in such cases. Multiple magnets tend to have strong attractive forces among them and may encase loops of bowel within them. Once entrapped, pressure necrosis and perforation will ensue, and thus, a low threshold should be adopted for surgical exploration in such cases. We present the case of a two-year-old male who had an accidental, unwitnessed ingestion of multiple magnets and also report the subsequent surgical management and associated morbidity.