Management of foreign bodies ingestion

Foreign bodies ingestion is a common event, with a potential morbidity and mortality. In the majority of cases, the foreign bodies pass through the digestive tract without any complication. An endoscopy for removal of the foreign body is necessary in 10 to 20 % of cases and a surgical intervention is required in < 1 % of cases. In this article, we describe the clinical presentation, the potential complications, as well as the timing and endoscopic technics of foreign bodies retrieval, essentially based on the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy recommendations.