A granulomatous liver abscess which developed after a toothpick penetrated the gastrointestinal tract: Report of a case

An unusual case of a toothpick perforating the stomach, then penetrating the liver, and thereafter forming a liver abscess is reported. A 48-year-old woman who had ingested a toothpick 1 month earlier was admitted to ourhospital because of severe epigastralgia which had progressively worsened. A laparotomy was performed because a granulomatous abscess in the liver due to this ingested foreign body was suspected. We found a granulomatous abscess in the liver due to the penetration of the toothpick through the stomach. The toothpick had become completely embedded about 2cm deep in the left lobe of the liver. When dissecting the tumor, a 5.5-cm toothpick was removed, and a partial lateral resection of the liver was performed. The histological diagnosis was a hepatic abscess with granulomatous change. This was a rare case of a migration of an ingested toothpick into the liver through the stomach.