[Foreign body stories]

Abstract

Gastrointestinal and bronchial foreign bodies may cause significant clinical complications with a high degree of morbidity. In adults, a large variety of foreign bodies are accidentally or intentionally ingested, inserted or aspirated. In the majority of cases, the objects are expelled conservatively by coughing, vomiting or bowel movements. The risk for obstruction, perforation and penetration depends upon the type of object, those with sharp edges or tips having the highest risk. In these situations, the objects have to be removed by an endoscopic or an operative intervention. We present four foreign body stories including a young lady who swallowed a pen during sleep, a farmer who inserted a corncob into the rectum because of intractable diarrhoea, an elderly gentleman who aspirated a dental bridge while laughing and a cocain body packer who was caught at the border. Back ground, complications and removal procedures of the four cases are discussed.