Presentation
Foreign body swallowing. Witnessed incident. For plain film assessment.
Patient Data
Foreign body aspiration is identified by the presence of a nail within the distal trachea, straddling the carina and proximal left main bronchus.
The trachea is central,
There is no pneumothorax, no pneumomediastinum, and no surgical emphysema.
Case Discussion
An unusual presentation of an aspirated foreign body (nail), straddling the carina and the proximal left main bronchus. Aspirated foreign bodies are usually found within the right main bronchus due to its steeper angle. In this instance, the nail is unable to descend further due to the more horizontal left main bronchus with a shallower angle in comparison to the right main bronchus.
The nail was easily removed during bronchoscopy without any further complications.
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