[Injury caused by glass splinters of the esophagus with smooth passage of the foreign body per vias naturales (author's transl)].

Case report on a 14 months old infant who swallowed a glas splinter while being fed from a jar with commercially prepared strained baby food (fruits). A perforating laceration in the upper posterior wall of the esophagus gave rise to a purulent inflammation of the paraesophageal tissue within 24 hours requiring incision and drainage. The suspected splinter was not found, neither by two esophagoscopies nor by the incision. Therefore the stools were collected for six days and carefully screened with a special technique. Thus a tiny curved glas splinter was detected fitting exactly into a corresponding defect of the upper inner rim of the used jar.