Management of fish bone impaction in throat : our experiences in a tertiary care hospital of eastern India

Abstract EN

Objective : To find out prevalence of accidental ingestion of fish bones and its management in a tertiary care hospital of eastern India.

Materials & methods : This is a prospective observational study.

Three hundred thirty patients with complains of fish bone in throat who presented to the out patients department of Otorhinolaryngology and the emergency department of a Medical college between January 2008 to December 2015 were shortlisted for study.

Followed by conventional examination, most were subjected to endoscopic examination and removal.

The parameters analyzed were age and sex distribution, clinical presentation, duration of symptoms, location of impaction, conventional and endoscopic removal techniques.

Result : Among three hundred thirty patients, no foreign body was found in eighty patients.

Patients in age group of 21–30 years were affected mostly with almost equal sex distribution.

Most patients presented with foreign body sensation in throat of short duration with precise finger point localization.

Both conventional and endoscopic methods were employed with successful results but with definite advantage of endoscopic method.

Conclusion : Fish bone in throat is a common occurrence in Otorhinolaryngological practice.

Fish bone impaction is a common foreign body in the pharynx.

Endoscopic removal is distinctly more helpful than the conventional ones