Abstract
Coins are most frequent esophageal foreign bodies. They usually lodge in frontal position due to the proper shape of the esophagus.
The author reported here a rare case of an esophageal foreign body a coin lodging in sagittal position.
The patient was an 11 year old boy. About 90 minutes before his visit on the author's clinic, he, playing a magician, inserted a coin (10 yen) deep into the hypopharynx, mistakenly swallowed it, and complained of chest-pains. Roentgenographically, the coin seemed to lodge at the first narrow in sagittal position.
This rare position was confirmed by esophagoscopy (with 1.0×18cm Killian's esophagoscope) and the coin was extracted with Robert's forceps.
In the case of this age, a foreign body 2.5cm in diameter such as that of a 10 yen coin is easy to pass through the esophagus. The sagittal position in this case seemed to be attributed to the condition that the patient inserted a coin intentionally deep into the hypopharynx.
