Endoscopic removal of a tablespoon retained in the stomach - A case report

Abstract

Even if the ingestion of foreign bodies is common, it is not a common practice to remove endoscopically a big foreign body retained in the stomach. We describe a 27 years old schizophrenic woman transferred to the Kigali University Teaching Hospital (CHUK) after four days of ingesting a tablespoon. An erect abdominal X-ray revealed the teaspoon in the abdomen and was confirmed by an endoscopy. The spoon was successfully removed endoscopically using a polypectomy snare. There were no post-procedure complications, and the patient was discharged after two days of observation. The upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is a feasible and safe procedure for removing big retained foreign bodies in carefully selected patients.