Rare upper esophageal foreign body and a simple trick to remove it

Abstract

This is a case report of a 7 year old male child who presented with an unusual foreign body a glass marble in upper esophagus. The child was a case of global developmental delay, seizure disorder, patent ductus arteriosus, congenital hydrocephalus with VP shunt in situ. The case was a challenging one to the entire team of surgeons, anaesthesiologist and paediatrician. Under general anesthesia the foreign body was removed using a foley’s catheter. Spherical foreign bodies like glass marbles are always challenging as the usual instruments cannot grasp such foreign bodies and there is always a chance of pushing the foreign body downwards during the attempt to remove. In this case foley’s catheter was used to retrieve the foreign body which is cheap, easily available and non-traumatic