Tubeless field anaesthesia for surgical removal of an aspirated endoscopy capsule

Capsule endoscopy is a safe, minimally invasive procedure used to investigate gastrointestinal bleeding of unknown origin that persists or recurs after a negative initial endoscopy. The most common adverse effects of capsule endoscopy include abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Capsule pulmonary aspiration, although a rare complication, has been reported in the literature. Most reported cases resolve without further medical intervention. In these cases, the capsule is either expelled by coughing, or it re-enters the oropharynx and is then swallowed. In a small number of cases, the capsule remains in the lung, unable to be expectorated. This requires prompt diagnosis and emergency bronchoscopic removal under general anaesthesia. Due to the smooth, rounded surfaces of the capsule, it may be difficult to grasp, and consequently extraction may be technically challenging. The existing literature contains limited documentation on anaesthetic and surgical approaches for managing an aspirated endoscopy capsule. In this case report, we present the management of an aspirated endoscopy capsule in a district general hospital, in which thoracic surgery was not available. Local resources were used to manage this potentially life-threatening complication without patient transfer. In our case, we provided a tubeless field to optimise surgical access. This facilitated the successful surgical extraction of the endoscopy capsule from the left main bronchus.