Spontaneous Expulsion of a Sharp Foreign Body

Accidental foreign body aspiration is more common in children than in adults. It is one of the most common causes of accidental death in young children. Retrieval of the foreign body by rigid or flexible bronchoscopy is successful in the majority of cases. We describe a case of a 14-year-old girl who inhaled a scarf pin. Flexible bronchoscopy was partly successful and managed to bring the pin up from a segmental bronchus into the left lower lobe bronchus and then into the throat. Unfortunately, it was reaspirated by the patient into the lower trachea. A rigid bronchoscopy under general anesthesia was planned; however, the patient managed to cough the foreign body out spontaneously, thus avoiding further interventions.