Die verlorene Gurtfixierung

We report the case of a 13 year old mentally handicapped boy who ingested a foreign body. The patient developed no symptoms, although the 4 cm long foreign body was located in the upper third of the oesophagus. The extraction of the foreign body was performed via endoscope without complications.The ingestion of foreign bodies by mentally retarded or handicapped children has a higher morbidity and mortality rate in comparison to healthy individuals. Typical clinical signs of foreign bodies can be missing or are misinterpreted in the context of the underlying handicap. Parents, caretakers, and health professionals should be aware of this. In order to avoid complications it is essential to listen carefully to the reports of parents/caretakers of mentally handicapped infants. Without the observation of the parents the foreign body could have been easily missed in the reported infant. Complications would have been very likely.