Swallowed foreign bodies.

Of 98 swallowed foreign bodies demonstrated, 71 with fate definitely known are reported. Seventeen of 20 foreign bodies in the esophagus had esophagoscopic removal. Only two of 51 foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract had laparotomy, while 49 were spontaneously passed. Early esophagoscopic removal of foreign bodies lodged in the esophagus and conservative management of foreign bodies which have passed the esophagogastric junction are recommended. Laparotomy is rarely indicated in the management of swallowed foreign bodies, although various observers are not in full agreement as to the circumstances in which "watchful waiting" is advisable nor as to how long it is permissible to wait for spontaneous passage. In 20 of 71 cases of swallowed foreign bodies, the objects were in the esophagus at the time the patient was first examined. Esophagoscopic removal was carried out in 17 cases. In two cases a foreign body was passed per rectum and in one was vomited. Laparotomy for removal was done in only two of the 51 cases in which the foreign body was already in the stomach or bowel at the time of examination, and in one of them the operation probably could have been avoided.