Open AccessEndoscopic retrieval of an 18-cm long chopstick embedded for ten months post-automutilation in the esophagus of a patient with psychosis
Author(s) -
Shengxi Li,
Hui Li,
Tao Chen,
MeiDong Xu
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
world journal of gastrointestinal endoscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1948-5190
DOI - 10.4253/wjge.v6.i9.453
Subject(s) - medicine , forceps , foreign body , foreign body ingestion , ingestion , esophagus , endoscopy , foreign bodies , surgery , acute psychosis , emergency department , alimentary tract , psychosis , general surgery , psychiatry
Foreign body ingestion is an emergency or acute situation that commonly occurs in children or adults and involves the ingestion of one or more objects. Moreover, once the discovery of swallowed foreign bodies has been made, families are typically very anxious to have the patient see a doctor. If the foreign object becomes embedded in the digestive tract, it must be removed; in emergencies, this is done by endoscopy or surgery. This case report presents the successful endoscopic retrieval of a chopstick with both sides embedded 4 cm into the esophageal wall for > 10 mo in a male patient following automutilation in an attempt to be released from a psychiatric hospital. Hot hemostatic forceps were used to open the distal esophageal mucosa in which the chopstick was embedded. The procedure was performed under intravenous general anesthesia and took approximately 7 h.