Unusual presentation of a retained foreign body in a child.

A 4-year-old boy, not known to have any medical illness, presented to several medical facilities reporting right upper quadrant and right flank pain, intermittent fever and chills for 3 months. A CT of the abdomen showed that a swallowed 'bobby pin' had pierced through the right kidney. This finding explained the boy's symptoms. The pin was removed by laparotomy without any subsequent complication. The patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery.