J Med Assoc Thai Vol. 92 No. 1 2009 17 Correspondence to: Opasanon S, Division of Trauma Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand. Phone: 0-2419-7727-9, Fax: 0-2419-7730. E-mail: anne_surgeon @hotmail.com Endoscopic Management of Foreign Body in the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract: A Tertiary Care Center Experience Supaporn Opasanon MD*, Thawatchai Akaraviputh MD**, Asada Methasate MD**, Jatuporn Sirikun MD*, Mongkol Laohapensang MD** * Division of Trauma Surgery, ** Department of Surgery, Siriraj GI Endoscopy Center, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand Background: Foreign body (FB) in the upper gastrointestinal tract (UGIT) is a common clinical problem in endoscopic practice. At present, many physicians recommend endoscopy for both diagnosis and treatment. To date, few have report endoscopic findings and management of FB in UGIT. Objective: To report the authors’ experience and outcome of the endoscopic management of foreign body ingestion at Siriraj Hospital Material and Method: Medical records of patients with FB ingestion in the UGIT, who underwent endoscopic management between January 2004 and January 2008 at Siriraj Hospital, were reviewed. Results: The analysis included 34 patients of which 58.82% were men. The mean age of the group was 18.26 years (range 10 months - 86 years). 58.82% of patients were younger than 5 years. Esophagogastroduode- noscopy (EGD) was performed in 100% of cases, under general anesthesia (GA) in 85.29%, and under transintravenous anesthesia (TIVA) in 14.71%. Endoscopic management was successful in all cases. The extractions were done with rat-tooth forceps, polypectomy snare, dormia basket, or tripods. There were no procedure related complications. Conclusion: The ingested FB varied widely according to the underlying medical condition and age. In a tertiary care center, endoscopic removal of FB in UGIT could be safely performed with a very good result. Keywords: Foreign body ingestion, Upper gastrointestinal tract, Endoscopic removal Ingestion of foreign bodies in the upper GI tract is common. Most of them pass through the GI tract spontaneously, but some of them (about 20%) need endoscopic or surgical removal (1) . Foreign body ingestion can be dangerous when it leads to bowel perforation from bones, needles, and disc batteries. Several managements have been devised for the treatment of foreign body ingestion, including rigid and flexible endoscopy, Foley catheter retraction, swallowing gas-forming agents, enzymatic digestion, and watchful waiting (2) . At present, many physicians recommend endoscopy for both diagnosis and treatment. However, in Thailand, there have been only a few reports on endoscopic management of foreign bodies in the upper GI tract. The purpose of the present study was to report the authors’ experience and outcome of the en- doscopic management of foreign body ingestion at Siriraj Hospital. Material and Method The present research was a retrospective study. Thirty-four patients (20 men and 14 women) with a history of foreign body ingestion treated in the Siriraj GI Endoscopy Center, the Division of Trauma Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand between January 2004 J Med Assoc Thai 2009; 92 (1): 17-21 Full text. e-Journal: http://www.mat.or.th/journal