Çocuk Cerrahisi Kliniği, Dr. Sami Ulus Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, ANKARA

Objective: Foreign body ingestion is a common and potentially serious cause of mortality in children. Most swallowed foreign bodies are coins. The aim of this study is to identify the efficiency and safety of the Foley balloon catheter removal of coins from the upper esophagus. Material and Methods: Retrospective and prospective reviews of patients with coins lodged in the upper esophagus and were tired to extract with the Foley balloon catheter technique, between 2002 and 2004 has been reported. Results: Forty-nine patients included to the review with: A maximum history of 24 hours, no esophageal pathology, and coins that lodged in the upper esophagus were found on posteroanterior neck-chest x-ray. The children ranged from 2 to 6 years old. 43% (n= 21) patients were female, 57% (n= 28) were male. There wasn’t any medical complication until the procedure. Coins were tired to extract with 8 or 10 Fr Foley balloon catheters, according to their age. Sixteen (40%) of 40 were successfully extracted at the first attempt, 14 (35%) at the second, and 10 (25%) at the third. In nine (18%) cases these attempts failed, and two of them extracted with esophagoscopy, and seven with Magill forceps technique under general anesthesia. There was no complication related to these procedures. Conclusion: Foley balloon catheter technique for extraction of coins lodged in the upper esophagus is an easy, efficient, safe and cost effective technique.