A case of corrosive tracheoesophageal fistula: A complication of button battery ingestion.

KEY CLINICAL MESSAGE: Button battery ingestion has been a common condition encountered by otorhinolaryngologists. Impaction in the esophagus can lead to serious and fatal complications such as tracheoesophageal fistula. Management involves a multidisciplinary team and varies from supportive therapy to surgical intervention.

ABSTRACT: Ingestion of button batteries has been seen with increasing frequency over the past decade. In several small numbers of reported cases, their impaction in the esophagus has led to severe, sometimes fatal, complications. The management of these cases has varied from expectant, supportive therapy to early surgical intervention. We report a case of button battery ingestion that was diagnosed late and resulted in a complication of tracheoesophageal fistula with migration to the thorax which was managed by open surgery.