[Foreign bodies in the oesophagus].

We have evaluated 229 endoscopic examinations of the oesophagus performed during the period 1983 to 1989 in patients suspected of having foreign bodies in the oesophagus. The majority of our patients were aged 60 or more. Meat was the most frequent foreign body found in all the patients and particularly so in the elderly, while coins were most common in children. Bones from meat or fish were more frequent in the proximal part of the oesophagus, while meat was distributed more evenly between the proximal and distal parts. Five oesophageal perforations occurred, only one of them caused by the endoscopic examination. 18% of the patients were found to have pathologic conditions in the oesophagus, the majority being non-malignant strictures. No new cases of cancer were found.