Disk Battery as a Vaginal Foreign Body in a Five-Year-Old Preadolescent Child

Abstract

The self-introduction of batteries into the vagina is exceedingly infrequent among preadolescents, with only six cases have been recorded in the English-language PubMed-indexed literature. Herein, we present the case of a five-year-old female child who presented with an 18-month history of recurrent ill-smelling vaginal discharge. Pelvic radiograph displayed a radio-opaque object, most likely representing a disk battery inside her vagina. Vaginoscopy showed a 1.2 cm disk battery that was removed from the right posterior vaginal fornix. Four weeks later, the child was doing well and symptom-free. Although rare, vaginal foreign bodies should be considered in the differential diagnosis in preadolescent girls presenting with chronic and recurrent vaginal discharge. Vaginoscopy is a useful tool diagnostically and therapeutically. A clinical summary of all PubMed-indexed cases of batteries as vaginal FBs in children is provided (n=6).

Keywords: foreign body; preadolescent child; vaginal fornix; vaginoscopy.