Small bowel obstruction due to ingestion of rubber balls

Abstract

We report a case of a 10-month-old girl who presented with a 10-day history of emesis that became bilious on the last day. The initial evaluation suggested small bowel obstruction. An upper gastrointestinal study confirmed the normal location of the duodenojejunal junction with normal rotation and no evidence of midgut volvulus. Ultrasound (US) evaluation demonstrated two intraluminal lesions that do not follow the typical features of solid or cystic lesions. Two rubber balls were found at surgery to be responsible for the small bowel obstruction. Foreign body ingestion is common in children, but this case demonstrates a unusual foreign object to be ingested as well as the US appearance of this particular foreign body.