Images in Clinical Medicine

Esophageal Foreign Body

Mahmoud Mohammed Ramadan, M.D., Ph.D., and Mohamed El-Sayed El-Desouky, M.D., Ph.D.

N Engl J Med 2009; 361:e11August 13, 2009

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Article

A 50-year-old man presented to the emergency department with marked dysphagia, dyspnea, and paroxysmal cough. He had swallowed a spoon while trying to extract a fish bone that was stuck in his throat. The presence and position of the spoon were verified in two radiographs (Panels A and B). With the patient under general anesthesia and with the aid of a laryngoscope, the end of the tablespoon was grabbed with forceps and safely extracted. No fish bone was detected on evaluation with esophagogastroduodenoscopy. The spoon was 19 cm in overall length, and the bowl of the spoon was 6.5 cm by 4 cm by 0.5 cm in its largest dimensions.

Mahmoud Mohammed Ramadan, M.D., Ph.D.
Mohamed El-Sayed El-Desouky, M.D., Ph.D.
Mansoura University, Mansoura, Dakahleya 35516, Egypt