Abstract

The clinical review was done on 17 cases with the foreign body in the upper gastrointestinal tract who underwent endoscopic removal of foreign body at Kang Nam Sacred Heart Hospital from Dec. 1981 to Dec. 1991. The results were as follows: 1) The age distribution varies from 3 months to 72 years of age, being most prevalent under 5 years of age. 2) The incidence of foreign body in the order of frequency was coin, fish bone, safety pinring, peanut, keyring, food bolus, artificial teeth and medal. Among 17 cases, 9 cases(53.0%) were lodged in the esophagus and 8 cases(47.0%) were lodged in the stomach. 3) Dysphagia or globus was the common symptom in 8 cases(47.2%), followed by absence of symptom in 7 cases(41.2%), upper abdominal discomfort in 1 case(5.8%) and vomiting in 1 case (5.8%). 4) l0 cases(58.8%) of foreign body were removed within 72 hours and 7 cases(41.2%) of foreign body were removed after 72 hours.

• Keywords: Endoscopic extraction , Foreign bodies