Fish hooks: an unusual and sharp foreign body in the hypopharynx

Foreign bodies in the hypopharynx occur commonly. A myriad of objects have been observed. In this report we describe a case involving a fish hook in a 10-year-old girl. The presence of this uncommon, sharp-pointed object was disclosed by plain radiography. The child was hospitalized three days after ingestion. Two attempts to perform endoscopic retrieval failed. Open cervicotomy was undertaken and allowed successful removal. The authors discuss management of this special type of foreign body and review several other unusual case reports in the literature.