A swallowed fishbone penetrating the oesophagus into the sternomastoid muscle.

A 40-year-old woman presented with the history of swallowing a fishbone one hour earlier. Since the patient was swallowing normally and the X-ray results were negative, she was reassured and sent home. Twenty days later, when the patient again presented with pain and tenderness in her neck, the fishbone was detected in the left sternomastoid muscle, and removed under local anaesthesia.