Foreign body ingestion and esophageal food bolus impaction are common emergencies encountered by gastroenterologists. If not treated in a timely fashion these can result in significant morbidity, or even mortality. The mainstay of diagnosis and therapy is endoscopy. Guidelines regarding timing of endoscopy have been published by both the American and European Societies of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and both suggest emergent endoscopy, meaning within 2 to 6 hours, for complete esophageal obstructions. There is relatively sparse data regarding the endoscopic techniques used in real world practice.
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