Pearls and perils in the management of prolonged, peculiar, penetrating esophageal foreign bodies in children

Chronic esophageal foreign bodies in pediatric patients: a retrospective review

“…Severe complications associated with CEFB include aortoesophageal fistulas [17], pulmonary edema [18], bronchoesophageal fistula, medistinitis [19], esophageal diverticulum, and lobar atelectasis [20]. Fortunately, the local reactions including the slow progression of the fistula formation and firm fibrous consistency of the fistula tract helps to prevent the fulminant course of acute mediastinitis [21].…”

“…Gilchrist et al [20] describe five pediatric patients with CEFB of 2 months to 2 years duration, and all patients required thoracotomy for removal of the CEFB. Other studies utilized rigid endoscopy exclusively for removal of both acute and chronic esophageal foreign bodies [4].…”

“…In the study by Gilchrist et al [20], one of the five patients who required open removal died [20]. Severe neurologic damage was reported in a 1 year-old patient who had airway obstruction due to esophageal foreign body [8].…”

Esophageal Stricture with a Pseudodiverticulum Caused by the Unrecognized Ingestion of a Small Foreign Body in a Child: Report of a Case

“…Foreign bodies retained for a long time in the esophagus can be life-threatening. [2][3][4]8 Nonopaque foreign bodies are particularly difficult to find by conventional radiography or CT scans. Our patient's mother could not recall him swallowing a foreign body, and the hard plastic sticker was not detected because it was small and nonopaque.…”

“…Foreign bodies can cause injuries that result in atypical symptoms of chronic inflammation, which are difficult to diagnose. 2 However, an esophageal stricture resulting from foreign-body ingestion is an uncommon complication. 3,4 We report a case of an esophageal inflammatory stricture caused by the previously unrecognized ingestion of a small, hard plastic sticker.…”