Fish bone migration: complications, diagnostic challenges, and treatment strategies

Fish bone impaction in the pharynx is a common otolaryngological emergency. However, if the fish bone perforates the pharyngeal wall or the gastrointestinal wall and migrates to the neck tissues or organs, entering the lungs, mediastinum, heart, liver, biliary tract, spleen, pancreas, or other structures, or damages major blood vessels in the thoracic or abdominal cavities, it can lead to severe complications. This condition is rare and dangerous, potentially resulting in a series of serious complications, including neck abscess, thyroid abscess, thrombosis or air embolism of the cervical vessels, esophageal perforation, rupture of major mediastinal vessels, mediastinitis, aorto-esophageal fistula, lung abscess, spinal injury, sepsis, splenic abscess, hepatic abscess, anal fistula, and it may even be misdiagnosed as a tumor. This narrative review synthesizes evidence on fish bone translocation complications to (1) identify high-risk clinical presentations, (2) guide site-specific imaging selection, and (3) inform multidisciplinary management strategies. Use the keyword “fishbone” to systematically search articles from PubMed、CNKI and Embase databases from 1972 to 2024. Review all original articles and include them in this review where appropriate. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from case reports and observational studies to explore complications and management of fish bone translocation in uncommon sites. Given the predominance of heterogeneous case reports, a formal systematic review with meta-analysis was not feasible; however, we employed systematic search strategies to minimize selection bias. To avoid severe complications, it is crucial to provide comprehensive information on the management of fish bone impaction. When fish bone removal cannot be achieved using laryngoscopy, prompt and decisive surgical intervention is required to extract the foreign body.