Two cases of unsuspected esophageal foreign body ingestion with chest pain
as the main symptom are reported. Both patients had extensive cardiac evalu
ation to rule out myocardial ischemia. They were discharged home with conti
nuing chest pain and odynophagia. Both patients were denture wearers, and f
urther questioning revealed the coincidence of chest pain with taking meals
. Further evaluation revealed an impacted esophageal foreign body in one pa
tient and an esophageal perforation with a mediastinal abscess in the other
. These cases illustrate the importance of considering esophageal foreign b
odies as factors in chest pain.