Magnetic perforation: Why we say NO to kids
Aishath Azna Alia, Anil Dhunganaa, Mohamed Kamel Sobhi Mohameda, Ali Zaadheea,
Raya Rasheeda, Abdulla Ubaida, Xin Leh Leeb, Firdaus Hayatib, *,
Khasnizal Abd Karimc, Andee Dzulkarnaen Zakariad
a Department of Surgery, Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Male’, Maldives
b Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
c Department of Surgery, Tawau Hospital, Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia
d Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia
Foreign body (FB) ingestion is common among children. It is alarming when it is a magnetic foreign
body as it can cause interloop attraction resulting in perforation, fistulas and or volvulus.
This case report presented 2 cases of magnetic FB ingestion by children. The first child had a history
of FB ingestion and presented with signs and symptoms of intestinal obstruction. The parents
of the second child gave no history of FB ingestion which might have caused the delay in diagnosis
and treatment. The FB ingestion was confirmed by abdominal radiography in both cases and
the patient recovered well after the reparation of perforation sites in an exploratory operation.
