Complications of endoscopic extraction of foreign bodies and their treatment

: Endoscopic extraction of foreign bodies from the upper part of the digestive tract has become recently the method of choice. As this method can be associated with very serious complications which cannot be resolved endoscopically and which may have permanent sequelae, it is important to consider the indication of endoscopic extraction of foreign bodies from the oesophagus or stomach very carefully. Fore illustration the authors present the case of a young female patient who swallowed by mistake a fork During its extraction a serious injury of the oesophagus occurred which had to be treated surgically. In the discussion pros and cons of endoscopic extraction are considered, the main principle being primum non nocere.