Removal of an aspirated open safety pin from trachea

Swallowing of foreign bodies is a fairly common pediatric emergency. Children usually swallow foreign objects into their bodies accidentally during playing. Foreign body in the trachea is a common condition which may be life threatening. Foreign body in bronchus is usually managed by bronchoscopy, though open surgical procedure may be rarely needed and sometimes it is life threatening. We report a case of a 5 year old male child who accidentally inhaled an open safety pin. Bronchoscopy was done to localize the site of the foreign body, but it was not possible to be removed by bronchoscopy as the pin was open. Then, tracheotomy was done and foreign body was removed successfully. Tracheotomy stoma was closed after the removal. Patient developed surgical emphysema within minutes of closure and presented with difficulty in breathing with bradycardia, immediately surgeon explored the surgical site and reopen tracheostomy site and the patient was managed successfully.