An 8-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital after experiencing complete difficulty swallowing, vomiting, and excessive saliva. The X-ray showed a large circular object lodged in the upper part of the esophagus, so doctors suspected it was a dangerous button battery, capable of causing severe internal burns within hours.
Given the risk, the medical team decided to intervene immediately through an endoscopy under general anesthesia.
However, when they reached the site of the problem, they discovered a surprise: it was not a battery, but two coins perfectly stacked, one on top of the other, which had created the illusion of a single object on the X-ray.
The finding also explained why the boy could not swallow anything at all: the coins had been there long enough to cause necrosis and injuries around the entire esophagus, although fortunately they did not perforate it.
After removing the coins, the doctors performed a CT angiography to make sure there was no damage to the major blood vessels in the neck and chest. Fortunately, the study confirmed that there were no major injuries.
The child remained under observation for two weeks while the tissue healed naturally and was finally discharged without complications. During follow-up checkups, specialists confirmed that the esophagus had healed properly.
The case was published in a medical journal because it demonstrates how two simple coins can mimic the appearance of a dangerous button battery on an X-ray, a difference that can completely change the patient’s treatment and urgency.