Peer-reviewed article
An intricate vagina penetrating injury with a 22 cm cassava stick in situ for 6 months: a case report.
Irumba C, Baragaine J, Obore S, Mwanje H, Nteziyaremye J ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a case report of a 7-year-old girl in Uganda who sustained a severe vaginal injury from a 22 cm cassava stick that remained undetected for 6 months, causing chronic discharge. Despite two ultrasound scans, the foreign body was only found during examination under anesthesia. The case highlights the risk of missing serious genital injuries in children and the importance of thorough clinical examination, while also raising concerns about possible child abuse.
Key points
- A 7-year-old girl presented with a 22 cm cassava stick lodged in her vagina for 6 months that had penetrated through the peritoneal cavity
- The foreign body was not detected on physical examination or two abdominal-pelvic ultrasound scans before presentation
- The object was successfully removed under anesthesia without requiring exploratory laparotomy
- Chronic vaginal purulent discharge for 6 months was the presenting symptom
- The case raises concerns about potential child sexual abuse and the need for clinicians to consider this possibility
Limitations
This is a single case report with no comparative data or outcomes follow-up information provided. It cannot tell us about the prevalence of such injuries, the long-term physical or psychological effects on the child, or factors that might prevent similar cases.
Abstract
Background Trauma remains one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality and a threat to attainment of sustainable development goal 11. Genital urinary trauma is reported in about 10% of patients presenting with trauma worldwide, and in about 6.6% of patients in Sub-Saharan Africa. If not careful enough, one may miss the foreign body in the vagina and this may be associated with morbidity, and although rare, mortality. Case presentation We report a case of a 7-year-old Black Ugandan that had suffered vagina trauma 6 months prior to presentation at our facility and presented with chronic vagina pus discharge for 6 months. Prior examinations had failed to recognize the foreign body and so did the two abdominal pelvic ultrasound scans. During examination under anesthesia, we were able to locate the cassava stick that had caused penetrating vagina injury and we were able to dislodge it. It was a blunt cassava stick with length of 22 cm and diameter of 2 cm. Although it had gone through the peritoneal cavity, we did not do a laparotomy. Conclusion This case emphasizes the need for a thorough vaginal exam including the need to do it under anesthesia with good lighting even when ultrasound scan findings are normal. It presents an opportunity for one to manage penetrating peritoneal injury without a laparotomy in highly selected cases. Gynecologists should be keen as well to rule out child molestation.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Examination under anesthesia with thorough vaginal exploration and removal of foreign body
- Population
- One 7-year-old girl in Uganda
Key finding
Foreign body (22 cm cassava stick) was successfully located and removed under anesthesia