Troublesome Foreign Bodies of the Esophagus in Children

Abstract

Twenty-one cases of esophageal foreign bodies in children were treated at the authors' clinic during the last 9 years (1970-1978). In the present paper, 4 cases out of the 21 who presented troublesome clinical courses were reported.Case 1: A 16-month-old girl misswallowed a piece of washer. The initial symptoms of vomiting and odynophagia disappeared gradually, while dysphagia continued. The foreign body was removed endoscopically 20 days later.Case 2: A 10-month-old boy suffered from a hypopharyngeal foreign body (pin). The main symptom was stridor and, for this reason, the definite diagnosis was delayed. It was found that the pin penetrated through the hypopharyngeal wall to the laryngeal cavity.Case 3: A 3-year and 8-month-old boy, who underwent a surgery for congenital atresia of the esophagus at age 1, misswallowed an iron ball. The foreign body stuck at the stricture of the site of anastmosis.Case 4: A 5-year and 11-month-old boy misswallowed his dental prosthesis. This was a rare foreign body in childhood.The incidence of such foreign bodies in children as observed in Cases 3 and 4 may increase in future. In order to prevent foreign bodies of these types, a good knowledge of the parents and child himself seems mandatory.