Open safety pin stuck in 6-year-old's sinus cavity for years

For years, 6-year-old Alexis McCarter has been plagued by headaches, nose bleeds and ear infections. Her parents took her to doctor after doctor, but there wasn't a medical explanation for the problems until recently. A CT scan revealed the problem was an open safety pin lodged in the girl's sinus cavity.



"I'm still in shock. We don't know how it happened," said Susan McCarter. Doctors at Medical Universtiy of South Carolina told McCarter as a baby Alexis must have somehow stuck a safety pin up her nose and over time it made its way to the sinus cavity where it lodged after it opened. "I couldn't say anything. It just broke my heart," said McCarter.

Alexis doesn't seem to let the pain slow her down, but her mother says every night she asks for an ice-pack. "If I could take the safety pin so she wouldn't have to go through it I would," said McCarter. Alexis is scheduled for surgery in Chartleston on Dec. 7 to have the safety pin removed.



Her mother said doctors will have to go through the roof of her mouth to remove it. "It will be done as an out-patient. They said it could take 30 minutes. My biggest concern is a brain drip. Doctors said that was a possibility," said McCarter. As for safety pins, Alexis says, "I don't like them. They're pointy and they poke you."

With news video.