FOREIGN BODY IN THE STOMACH WALL SIMULATING A NEOPLASM

When a patient has vague gastrointestinal symptoms that persist unchanged, the surgeon should consider the possibility that the patient has ingested a foreign body, perhaps without knowing it. The literature on the subject reveals many interesting case reports but a high percentage of error in diagnosis. In the case reported here, the diagnosis was delayed until a subtotal gastric resection was performed. SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSIS An ingested foreign body may cause no symptoms in passage through the alimentary canal. If the foreign body is small or blunt, it may pass freely through the gastrointestinal tract, despite the valves. Symptoms appear only when chronic granuloma secondary to irritation of the gastric mucosa develops or when perforation is impending. When the foreign body is blocked at the pyloric area, symptoms usually simulate those emanating from duodenal or gallbladder lesions. The patient may complain of distention, eructation, dyspepsia, or vague pain. Although the