The swizzle stick syndrome, acute and chronic

Abstract

Swizzle sticks may be hazardous to one's health. Two extraordinary cases of swizzle sticks impaled in stomachs rather than in olives are described. In the first, the reaction was acute and promptly remedied by gastrotomy. In the second, the presentation was after protracted symptoms, and subtotal gastrectomy revealed chronic foreign body reaction previously thought to be neoplasm. This newly described source of gastric injury, although rare, must be considered in any patient who freely imbibes and presents with gastrointestinal symptoms, acute or chronic.