抄録
A 71-year-old male had complained of hoarseness, swallowing pain, and swelling of cervical lymph node persisting during several days. The symptoms had been suspected to be caused by cervical esophageal cancer by a practitioner who had first examined him. The symptoms were improved by the administration of antibiotics. Then through esophagoscopy, a piece of kelp was discovered caught in the right pyriform fossa and could easily be removed by forceps.
Eventually it became clear that the symptoms in this case resulted from the infection caused by the sharp edge of the piece of dried kelp. From this experience the conclusion is drawn as follows:
1) Even a piece of dried kelp can be a foreign body in esophagus.
2) When the patient is unaware that a foreign body has lodged somewhere in the air or food passage, it may be difficult to discover in diagnosis, especially if the foreign body is X-ray transparent.
3) Because of the higher frequency of such foreign body accidents as this case with the increasing population of elderly people, special attentions should be given to the complainings and symptoms in those patients who are wearing artificial denture.
