The authors report a 2lyear-old male case who had been suffering from repetitive vomiting which lasted for 2 weeks.
X-ray examination of the chest done by a local pediatrician revealed a small round foreign body in the esophagus which moved occasionally on swallowing.
The patient was transferred to the author's hospital, where the foreign bodiy was removed successfully by esophagoscopy under general anesthesia.
The foreign body turned out to be a small pachinko-ball. The patient, however, continued to vomit even after removal of the foreign body.
Subsequent barium swallow study showed a stricture of the cardia accompanied with marked swelling of the esophageal space above that level.
Although the authors have to rule out congenital esophageal stricture in this case for the confirmation of diagnosis, examinations and the manifestations suggested cardiospasm, which is a rare disease.
The removed esophageal foreign body was a small metal ball which would have easily passed a normally dilated esophagus.
Retention of an unusually small foreign body in the esophagus might indicate the possibility of an underlying abnormality of the esophagus.
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