Bronchoscopic Foreign Body Extraction in a Pulmonary Medicine Department: A Retrospective Review of Egyptian Experience

Foreign body (FB) removal in our hospital was almost exclusively performed by surgeons through a rigid bronchoscope until the pulmonologists started getting involved in FB extraction. This study aimed to retrospectively review the results of 2 years of experience with 120 patients who presented or were referred to the Pulmonary Medicine Department, Ain Shams University Hospital in Cairo, Egypt, with clinical suspicion of FB aspiration during the period between December 2006 and December 2008. FBs were removed by either rigid and/or flexible bronchoscopy using either general or topical anesthesia. There were 54 male and 66 female patients with an age range between 3 months and 70 years and 68.5% of the patients were under the age of 10 years. Ninety patients (75%) presented with a definite history of FB aspiration, with a time interval between aspiration and presentation ranging between less than 6 hours and 12 months. The FB was visible on the chest x-ray in 42 cases. Aspirations were primarily into the right lung (53.2%). Seeds and scarf pins were the most common FB found, and were retrieved in 36 cases. Pulmonologists were successful in extracting 110 out of 111 (99.1%) bronchoscopically visualized FBs, and open thoracotomy was required in only 1 case for FB removal. In another 6 cases, only mucous plug was found to be the endogenous FB, whereas no FB could be found in 3 cases. No mortality or serious complications took place during or after the bronchoscopy. In conclusion, pulmonologists can extract FBs easily and safely either by using rigid and/or flexible bronchoscopes if they have the appropriate experience.