Foreign Body Extraction

Abstract

Aerodigestive tract foreign bodies (FBs) can be life threatening or cause significant morbidity, therefore, the extraction should be conducted in a prompt and proper way depending on the type and location of the FBs. Nuts and seeds are the most common airway foreign objects. Rigid bronchoscopy and flexible bronchoscopy are complementarily used for the diagnosis, localization, and extraction of the airway FBs. Since airway management during the procedure is the most important issue for the safe extraction, full cooperation among the endoscopist, anesthesiologist, and assistants is important. Most ingested FBs are expelled spontaneously, but esophageal FBs can also be extracted endoscopically. Blunt FBs such as coins can also be retrieved by using balloon extraction under fluoroscopy. Special caution is emphasized in case of button-shaped battery ingestion since it causes a rapid local injury which may eventually develop into serious complications. Therefore, endoscopic examination must be performed as soon as possible.

The figures in this chapter are reprinted with permission from Standard Pediatric Operative Surgery (in Japanese), Medical View Co., Ltd., 2013, with the exception of occasional newly added figures that may appear.