Management of vulnating esophageal foreign bodies

This was a cross-sectional analytical study with retrospective data collection over 10 years (2012 - 2021). The frequency of vulnating CEOs was 9.1 cases/year (4.7%). The mean age of patients was 14 ± 19 years. The sex ratio was 1.6. The circumstances of onset were dominated by accidental ingestion of vulgarizing CEOs (98.9%). The average consultation time was 7.5 hours. Dysphagia was the dominant symptom (64.8%). Cervico-thoracic radiography revealed double-contour radiopaque images in 71.4%. Rigid-tube esophagoscopy was performed in 97.8% of cases. The average time to extraction of vulenerating CEOs was 8 hours. Vulnerable CEOs were non-organic in 84.6% of cases. Button cells accounted for 64.8%. Their location was cervical in 61.5% of cases intraoperatively. Lesion assessment revealed ulcero-necrotic lesions in 42.9% (p<0.05). Iatrogenic trauma was noted in 3.3% of cases. Nasogastric tube placement was indicated in 58.2%. Complications were dominated by ulcero-necrotic lesions (42.9%). The average hospital stay was 3 days.