Laser-assisted removal of a foreign body from the colon.
An 81-year-old woman underwent a colonoscopy because of a sigmoiditis poorly responding to conservative therapy. A rod-shaped foreign body found in the sigma proved impossible to remove conventionally. Irradiation with a low laser energy caused the foreign body to break apart, after which its extraction was straightforward. The further clinical course was uncomplicated. In this case a partial sigmoidectomy would have been indicated had the laser-supported extraction not been successful. The authors suggest that a similar procedure could be helpful in the management of foreign bodies in the esophagus.
Kaltheuner
M
M
Medizinische Klinik II, Städtisches Krankenhaus Leverkusen, Federal Republic of Germany.
Stallkamp
H
H
Malchow
H
H
Klose
A
A
Vestweber
K H
KH
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D012809:Colon, Sigmoid; D003113:Colonoscopy; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy