Condoms used to assist difficult endoscopic removal of impacted upper esophageal foreign bodies

Improvising in Endoscopy: Endoscopic Removal of Sharp Foreign Bodies in the Upper GI Tract, Using a Handmade Protective Device

Introduction. Foreign body ingestion is a common problem in large-volume endoscopic departments. Several techniques and devices have been described for the safe endoscopic removal of these objects. However, these devices may not be suitable in every clinical setting or—as in our case—they may not even be available. Case Presentation. We report the case of a 34-year-old patient, presenting with sharp foreign body ingestion. The foreign bodies were safely removed using a handmade protective hood due to lack of a commercial device. In our case, improvisation proved to be of great benefit for the patient as well as for the endoscopist. Discussion. Improvised interventions can be of special interest in the setting of insufficiently funded or equipped endoscopic departments.

Cut endotracheal tube for endoscopic removal of an ingested push-through pack

A 52-year-old female presented to our clinic after accidentally ingesting a push-through pack (PTP). After determining that the PTP was present in the stomach, we successfully and safely removed it endoscopically by using a handmade endoscopic hood fashioned from a cut endotracheal tube. Foreign body ingestion is a common clinical problem, and most ingested foreign bodies pass spontaneously. However, the ingestion of sharp objects, such as PTPs, increases the risk of complications, and urgent endoscopy is recommended to remove such objects. Previous studies have reported the use of other devices, both commercial and handmade, for the safe endoscopic removal of foreign bodies. The novel design of our handmade hood for the removal of the PTP, which was fashioned from a cut endotracheal tube, was beneficial in terms of maintaining a wide visual field, patient safety and tolerance, and easy preparation compared to previously reported commercial and handmade devices. It may be a viable and safe device for the retrieval of PTPs and other sharp foreign bodies.