Abstract:Objective To discuss the safety and efficacy of removing blunt pediatric esophageal foreign bodies with Foley catheter.Methods A total of 496 cases of esophageal foreign body removal with Foley catheter were retrospectively analyzed in Department of otorhinolaryngology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital in recent 5 years.Results Of the 496 children, 440 cases were successfully treated with Foley catheter, while 56 cases were not, in which 49 cases revealed that foreign bodies entered the lower digestive tract and were excreted through feces by examination of the repeated X-ray. And the other 7 cases of 56 cases took the surgery with rigid esophagoscopy under general anesthesia. No complications such as esophageal perforation, infection, aspiration of foreign bodies was observed in all postoperative cases. Conclusions The Foley catheter is safe, efficient, convenient and practical, which has obvious advantages in the treatment of children with blunt esophageal foreign bodies. However, the patients with longer incarceration time, incarceration in the middle and lower esophagus and the non-coin blunt foreign body show the lower success rates of the removal treatment.