Foreign-body retrieval from the stomach: how do you do it?

June 13th, 2011

Foreign-body retrieval from the stomach: how do you do it?

I have observed extreme variation in how my colleagues manage GI foreign-body retrieval from the stomach. Some always use general anesthesia and endotracheal intubation; others (myself included) use conscious sedation. Some use an overtube to withdraw the object into if possible; others simply pull it up to the endoscope and use the endoscope to guide it through the esophagogastric junction and upper esophageal sphincter. The reasons for this variation are clearly related to the perceived risk of airway compromise or gastrointestinal wall injury during withdrawal of the object from the stomach.

So my questions to you are:

1) When do you ask for endotracheal intubation during foreign-body retrieval?

2) Do you use an overtube when removing foreign bodies from the stomach, and, if so, always or in what situations?

3) If you don’t use an overtube, what technique do you use during withdrawal of the object?

4) What is your favorite “tool” or endoscopic accessory to grab objects from the stomach?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue.

Gut Check on Gastroenterology Archive

Gut Check on Gastroenterology, an NEJM Journal Watch blog focusing on issues in clinical gastroenterology, was active from 2008 to 2014. This archive contains all posts and discussions from Gut Check’s history.

June 13th, 2011