A case report of an emergency in the scrotum of a 4-month-old boy

RATIONALE Retained foreign body (FB) in soft tissues of children is commonly encountered in the emergency room. The FBs include different kinds of material and associate with some nonspecific symptoms. They usually penetrate the skin or other soft tissues and show some entry holes. PATIENT A 4-month-old male infant was admitted to our department due to the edema on the right of scrotum, higher skin temperature, and a funicular lump with serious haphalgesia in the right groin and scrotum. DIAGNOSES Imaging studies revealed a foreign body in right spermatic cord. A surgical exploration was performed, and a hair was dislodged. The pathological diagnosis was hyperplastic fibrous connective tissue and inflammatory reaction. INTERVENTIONS A surgical exploration was performed to dislodge the foreign body. OUTCOMES The boy had an uneventful course after the surgery and was discharged from the hospital one week later. The incision healed well when the boy came back for follow-up one week later. LESSONS We still have no idea that how this FB got to the soft tissue. Few previous studies can be retrieved to help us. But we can learn that foreign body should be one of consideration for the origin of inflammation or infection of soft tissues even there is not any laceration and penetration injuries.