Although oral, pharyngeal, and cervical esophageal foreign bodies are frequently seen in daily practice, few systematic analyses conducted in large case populations have been reported. Herein, we present a review of the date of 752 patients (317 males/435 females) who visited our department with a suspected foreign body in the throat during the 10-year period from March 2007 to February 2017. We collected data on the type of foreign body, site of lodgment of the foreign body in the throat, and the type of treatment undertaken to remove the foreign body. The most common suspected foreign body was a fish bone, which accounted for 598 cases (79.5%), however, only 383 of these cases actually had a foreign body, of which in 322, the foreign body was a fish bone. In regard to the treatment, 694 (92.3%) of the 752 cases were treated on an outpatient basis. These 694 cases included 337 (44.8%) in which a foreign body was found and 357 (47.5%) in which no foreign body was found. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed in 41 cases (5.5%) and 16 patients (2.1%) required treatment under general anesthesia.
