Patient 2: Figure 2 a-f:
- Lateral soft-tissue neck radiographs performed in a 5 month old infant
boy who had aspirated a Devil’s thorn, with the patient imaged supine
with horizontal beam shoot-through technique demonstrates the soft
tissue density foreign body (blue arrow) in the subglottic regions of
the large airway at the level of the C6 vertebral body. There is also
associated pre-vertebral soft tissue swelling extending from C2 to T1
but there is no soft tissue gas noted.
- Rigid bronchoscopy images demonstrating the thorn lodged in the
subglottic area
- Removal with rigid forceps , also noted is a groove or depression in
the right vocal cord mucosa where the thorn lay prior to the
intubation attempt
- and (e) Devil’s thorn extraction , noted the sharp horns and the
process of removing it without the horns causing further airway damage
- Follow-up radiograph performed after removal of the foreign body and
with an enteric tube in situ demonstrates a clear airway and improved
pre-vertebral soft tissue thickness without soft tissue gas.