Since the mid-1960s, the use of the Foley (balloon) catheter to remove foreign bodies from the esophagus has become increasingly popular among many radiologists, general surgeons, family and emergency physicians, and pediatricians. But, according to results of a recent survey reported to the American Broncho-Esophagological Association meeting in Palm Beach, Fla, those physicians who are specially trained in the removal of such foreign bodies find little use for the device, preferring conventional endoscopic extraction techniques in the presence of adequate airway management capability. The survey, conducted among directors of otolaryngology and thoracic surgery residency programs and members of the Society for Pediatric Radiology, was described by W. Frederick McGuirt, MD, associate professor of otolaryngology at Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC. Completed questionnaires were received from 245 physicians reporting on 1,512 cases of Foley catheter use. McGuirt said that of the 84 otolaryngologist respondents, only five