[Removal of swallowed metallic foreign bodies by orogastric magnetic intubation]

Foreign bodies with metal content ingested by 16 patients were removed from the upper gastrointestinal tract by means of a magnet inserted into the end of orogastric tube. In only one case did the foreign body uncouple from the orogastric tube-magnet arrangement during retrieval. The procedure is an alternative to endoscopic or surgical removal in some cases of metal foreign body ingestion.