Colon perforation caused by a foreign body in Hirschsprung disease

Accidental ingestion of foreign bodies is a common emergency in the pediatric population. The foreign body generally passes through the whole gastrointestinal system spontaneously without causing an obstruction. This is the first case report in the literature of Hirschsprung disease associated with a radio-opaque foreign body lodged at the site of a perforated sigmoid colon. This case highlights the fact that, in the case of an impacted radio-opaque foreign body in a child, the possibility of an obstructive congenital anomaly should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.