Hypopharyngeal and oesophageal foreign bodies

Foreign bodies in the food passages are quite common in Jos Community. Majority of 119 cases seen over a period of four years were children 92.4% and a coin was the commonest foreign body (86.5%). The site of lodgement of the foreign body was hypopharynx and abdomen in 11 cases each while 97 were held in oesophagus, mainly in its upper part. Removal of the foreign body by oesophagoscopy was difficult in patients who presented late. The coins formed a pouch in posterior oesophageal wall in six cases while their anterior surfaces got discoloured in 14 cases causing difficulty in their identification. Besides coins in children and dentures in adults, nine patients accidently swallowed a wide variety of foreign objects of different shapes and sizes. Management of such cases has been discussed.