A battery in the stenotic esophagus of a child with a congenital tracheoesophageal fistula

A case of a three-year-old male child who was admitted to our hospital with the suspicion that he had swallowed a battery approximately one hour before admittance. The parents believed that it was a button-shaped lithium battery approximately 12 mm in diameter. A chest X-ray was taken immediately, and a battery was identified in the esophagus at the fifth thoracic vertebra. By reviewing the child's medical history, we found that the child had had surgery the day after birth due to congenital atresia of the esophagus and a tracheoesophageal fistula type III b. An esophagoscopy was performed one hour after admittance, and the battery was found to be partially past the scar from the first surgery. Because of that, the battery was pushed further toward the stomach, out of fear that retrieving the battery through the scarred section of the child's esophagus could damage the stenotic wall. Upon the next X-ray of the abdomen, the battery was observed in the stomach. The child was monitored, and X-rays were taken over the next several days. The battery was evacuated in stool eight days after it had been ingested.