An esophageal foreign body is an object, most often a piece of bone or a chew, that stops in the esophagus instead of passing to the stomach. It is an emergency: the longer the object sits there, the deeper the pressure injury to a wall that has no serosa and heals poorly, and the higher the risk of perforation and later stricture.
Key facts
Esophageal foreign body at a glance- Species and system: dog (more common than in cats); gastrointestinal, esophagus.
- Typical patient: small breed dog, especially a terrier such as the West Highland White Terrier, that has eaten a bone, rawhide or dental chew.
- Classic presentation: sudden ptyalism, gagging, repeated swallowing and regurgitation soon after eating a bone.
- Where it sticks: thoracic inlet, heart base, or caudal esophagus just cranial to the diaphragm (the most common site).
- Diagnosis and treatment: survey radiographs, then esophagoscopy to remove the object, ideally within hours.
- Main complications: esophagitis, perforation (mediastinitis, pyothorax, pneumothorax, fistula) and stricture.
- Not zoonotic and not reportable.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 5 tables, 2 figures, 3 self-test questions and 17 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
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