Role of magill forcep in retrieval of foreign body coin

Abstract

Children swallow coins more than any other object. Many methods for removal of impacted coins at the upper end of the oesophagus are enumerated in literature, each having it's own merits and demerits. This retrospective study in 100 consecutive paediatric patients presents a magill forcep technique for removal of coins under inhalational anaesthesia using Mc-Intosch laryngoscope. Intubation and rigid endoscopy both were avoided, thereby minimizing hospital stay and cost of treatment. This also decreases the chances of complications. Moreover the technique was found to be at par with rigid endoscopy in term of efficacy and safety. However interestingly statistical analyses of the data by 'Chi SquareTest' (ξ 2) revealed the technique to be more applicable in younger age group i.e. 0-6 years. © 2009 Association of Otolaryngologists of India.