{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T06:15:24Z","timestamp":1778652924723,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778630400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Surg."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Missed diagnosis and treatment of esophageal foreign bodies (FBs) carry a risk of severe, life-threatening complications. This case report details the diagnostic and therapeutic management of a 58-year-old woman with a minimally invasive penetrating FB (MIPFB) following fish bone ingestion, who presented with odynophagia. Initial clinical evaluation and electronic nasopharyngolaryngoscopy were unremarkable. A cervical computed tomography scan on day 6 post-ingestion revealed a penetrating FB at the C6 vertebral level. Initial flexible esophagoscopy and a subsequent surgical exploration failed to localize the object. The FB, an approximately 2.5-cm-long fish bone embedded in the right posterior wall of the esophageal inlet, was ultimately and successfully retrieved via a repeated, meticulous endoscopic procedure employing targeted mucosal manipulation. This case highlights that MIPFB cases are prone to diagnostic delay and emphasizes that repeated, careful endoscopy is a superior and less invasive therapeutic strategy compared to surgical exploration in such complex scenarios.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1796341","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T05:55:01Z","timestamp":1778651701000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of a \u201cminimally invasive penetrating foreign body\u201d: a case report"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Wenjin","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2013Head and Neck Surgery, Anhui No.2 Provincial People\u2019s Hospital","place":["Hefei, Anhui, People\u2019s Republic of China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cheng","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2013Head and Neck Surgery, Anhui No.2 Provincial People\u2019s Hospital","place":["Hefei, Anhui, People\u2019s Republic of China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Changsong","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2013Head and Neck Surgery, Anhui No.2 Provincial People\u2019s Hospital","place":["Hefei, Anhui, People\u2019s Republic of China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tingting","family":"Hao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2013Head and Neck Surgery, Anhui No.2 Provincial People\u2019s Hospital","place":["Hefei, Anhui, People\u2019s Republic of China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1240","DOI":"10.4240\/wjgs.v15.i6.1240","article-title":"Bedside ultrasound-guided water injection assists endoscopically treatment in esophageal perforation caused by foreign bodies: a case report","volume":"15","author":"Wei","year":"2023","journal-title":"World J Gastrointest Surg"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1370876","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2024.1370876","article-title":"Case report: Unique management strategy for rare case of esophageal foreign body","volume":"11","author":"Rustemov","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Surg"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1186\/s12876-024-03532-0","article-title":"Non-foreign body-associated risk factors for complications associated with esophageal foreign-body removal and timing of endoscopic treatment: a single-center retrospective study","volume":"24","author":"He","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Gastroenterol"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3166","DOI":"10.1007\/s10620-021-07133-9","article-title":"Delayed endoscopic management of esophageal sharp-pointed food impaction: an analysis of 829 cases in China","volume":"67","author":"Li","year":"2022","journal-title":"Dig Dis Sci"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e21929","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.21929","article-title":"Emergent endoscopy for esophageal foreign body removal: the impact of location","volume":"14","author":"Sagvand","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.5606\/tgkdc.dergisi.2024.25724","article-title":"Diagnosis, treatment, and management of esophageal foreign bodies in patients with mental retardation: a retrospective study from three centers","volume":"32","author":"Topaloglu","year":"","journal-title":"Turk J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3304","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics13213304","article-title":"Predicting factors of clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized after esophageal foreign body or caustic injuries: the experience of a tertiary center","volume":"13","author":"Ribeiro","year":"2023","journal-title":"Diagnostics"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e65","DOI":"10.22037\/aaem.v11i1.2102","article-title":"Esophageal foreign body missed diagnosis; 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