Button batteries in the oesophagus: A surgical emergency

K Milford; A Numanoglu; A Brooks; S Cox

doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2016.v106i10.11172

In Practice

Button batteries in the oesophagus: A surgical emergency

K Milford, A Numanoglu, A Brooks, S Cox

Abstract

We describe two cases of missed battery ingestion that led to extensive morbidity, requiring surgical management that would not have been necessary had the batteries been removed timeously.

Authors' affiliations

K Milford, Division of Paediatric Surgery, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

A Numanoglu, Division of Paediatric Surgery, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

A Brooks, Christiaan Barnard Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

S Cox, Division of Paediatric Surgery, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa