Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res.  2015 Jun;15(2):124-126. 10.7704/kjhugr.2015.15.2.124.

Endoscopic Removal of Tangled Plastic Wires in the Stomach Using an Argon Plasma Coagulation and Endoscopic Scissors

• Park CK
• Kim HD
• Kim JY
• Jin SJ
• Kim BK
• Hwang YJ
• Kim DH

• KMID: 2249861
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7704/kjhugr.2015.15.2.124

Abstract

Plastic wires are uncommonly swallowed and subsequently may be tangled in the stomach. Although endoscopy with accessories is effective for removal of most wires, sometimes it is hard to remove tangled plastic wires. Early diagnosis and immediate retrieval of ingested wires are important. Mentally impaired adults have a relatively high rate of surgical intervention and complications due to delayed diagnosis. A twenty-one year old woman visited our hospital with foreign bodies in the stomach. She was mentally retarded and had swallowed plastic wires frequently. Esophagogastro-duodenoscopy revealed tangled plastic wires. We cut three wires with argon plasma coagulation and endoscopic scissors to unwind the bundle of wires. We removed the remaining 17 wires one by one. The total length of the wires were 496 cm. We report this unusual case of tangled plastic wires in the stomach removed endoscopically without surgical intervention.

Keyword

Endoscopy; Foreign bodies; Argon plasma coagulation

MeSH Terms

Adult
Argon Plasma Coagulation*
Delayed Diagnosis
Early Diagnosis
Endoscopy
Female
Foreign Bodies
Humans
Mentally Disabled Persons
Plastics*
Stomach*
Plastics