Unusual presentation of foreign bodies in esophagus-our experience

• Main Authors: Neha A Suman, Pooja S Nagare, Shubhalakshmi A Jaiswal, Arati Mitra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2015-01-01
• Series: Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil University
• Subjects: Crepitus; dysphagia; esophagoscopy; homicidal; pneumomediastinum
• Online Access: http://www.mjdrdypu.org/article.asp?issn=0975-2870;year=2015;volume=8;issue=3;spage=376;epage=379;aulast=Suman

Foreign body (FB) in esophagus is not a very rare entity. The main risks are to the children under 3 years of age. In this age group, the second molars have not yet developed, the child′s grinding and swallowing mechanisms are poor, and glottis closure is immature. Some patients at risk for FB ingestion may not be able to give an accurate medical history of ingestion, either due to age or mental illness. Coins are the most commonly ingested FBs, with button batteries, fish bone, marble, stone, and pieces of meat, etc., being other forms of ingested FB. In the majority of cases, it is accidental in nature, but can be occasionally homicidal, as was probably in one of our patients. Patient can be asymptomatic or can present with dysphagia, drooling of saliva, FB sensation, vomiting or pain. Patients with long-standing esophageal FBs may present with weight loss, aspiration pneumonia, fever, or signs and symptoms of esophageal perforation including crepitus, pneumomediastinum, or gastrointestinal bleeding. Here, we present four case reports of unusual presentation of FB in esophagus that were successfully removed by rigid esophagoscopy without any complication