A new method for extracting wooden foreign bodies from the upper esophagus

A foreign body impacted in the esophagus is an emergency case that requires immediate treatment. Often the foreign body can be removed easily using fo rceps or loops. Sometimes, however, safe grasping and extraction may become very difficult. A patient swallowed a chestnut which then stuck in the upper esophagus, The chestnut was removed with a gynecological instrument with a spiral tip use d for myoma fixation, Thereafter this technique was applied to in vitro tes ts with various kinds of meat and wood. In the clinical case, the chestnut could be removed with the spiral tip of the instrument for myoma fixation, whereas in the in vitro tests it was imp ossible to grasp meat or cut it into pieces. The removal of foreign bodies, such as wood, with the spiral tip of the ins trument for myoma fixation during rigid esophagoscopy is an alternative to extraction with forceps or loops. This method is ineffective for the remova l of pieces of meat.