Surgical management of an impacted sharp metallic foreign body in esophagus

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Introduction: Ingestion of foreign bodies is common and the esophagus is the most common site of impaction in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Case Series: We report two cases of impacted metallic foreign bodies in upper esophagus. The presentating symptoms were throat pain and dysphagia. Rigid and flexible esophagoscopy failed to retrieve the foreign body in both cases hence lateral cervical esophagostomy was performed for foreign body removal. Conclusion: Ingestion of foreign bodies is common. Some metallic foreign bodies frequently get impacted in the esophagus because of their large size, rigidity and pointed edges and are difficult to remove by endoscopy. Therefore, surgery is required for retrieval of such impacted, sharp, metallic foreign bodies.