Feeding tubes as foreign bodies in the pro ventriculi of juvenile parrots and their minimally invasive extraction by ingluviotomy

摘要

The problems associated with diagnosing and extracting non-metallic feeding tubes (e.g. silicon, plastic or rubber) from the proventriculi of juvenile parrots are described in three different cases: two Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus) and one Military Macaw (Ara militaris). All three birds were from different owners and were being hand-reared. They received their feed out of a syringe with a tube attached to it. While feeding, the tubes were either completely or partially bitten off and were swallowed by the juvenile birds. In all three cases, radiography with or without contrast medium could depict the foreign bodies and they could be removed via the crop using endoscopically-guided minimally invasive surgery with biopsy forceps. The surgical operation was performed by means of an ingluviotomy done directly at the thoracic inlet. Two of the parrots recovered well from the operation, though one of the Grey parrots died postoperatively as a consequence of the pre-operative trauma resulting from the foreign body.