Multiple ingested magnets causing bowel perforation and fistulation; A rare but preventable cause of acute abdomen in children

Hlaine Zaw Htet¹, Yar Zar Min¹, Yin Mar Oo¹, Nyo Nyo Win¹

Published in Volume 68, No. 2, 2026 April – June issue

https://doi.org/10.64455/xmma0026

A three-year and six-month-old child was admitted to paediatric surgical ward of a Children Hospital with abdominal pain and vomiting. Mother said he played with siblings on the playgrounds by using magnets. He then ingested 3 magnets accidentally. The mother consulted with a paediatrician at a private hospital after the incident. Plain X-ray abdomen was taken and the case was managed conservatively.

Foreign body (FB) ingestions are a common occurrence in infants and young children. The exact incidence is unknown because many cases are not reported. Most cases seen are between the ages of 6 months and 3 years; however, there have been instances reported in children older than 3 years of age. The vast majority of ingestions in children are accidental. The most common type of ingested FB varies by geographic region.

Most ingested foreign body pass through the GI tract without causing any problems but one needs to pay more attention to special kinds of ingested objects such as button battery, magnets and sharp pointed objects. Magnet ingestion can be a source of significant morbidity when multiple magnets or a single magnet and a second metallic FB are ingested simultaneously, or within a short time period of each other. A simple plain abdominal radiograph may suffice in revealing any foreign bodies of metallic densities.

Public education and prevention efforts are basic important steps to minimize the impact of accidental magnet ingestion in children.

1. Department of Paediatric Surgery, Yankin Children’s Hospital, Yangon, Myanmar

Corresponding author: [email protected]