Foreign Body Aspiration and Flexible Bronchoscopy

Flexible bronchoscopy is the most commonly used tool for the diagnosis of foreign body aspiration (FBA) and the preferred instrument for foreign body removal in adults. In children, the most common procedure performed for removal of foreign bodies is rigid bronchoscopy with or without the use of adjuvant flexible bronchoscopy. This chapter reviews the role of flexible bronchoscopy in foreign body removal in both the adult and pediatric populations. The management of foreign body removal is addressed by exploring three different therapeutic approaches: postural drainage, rigid bronchoscopy, and flexible bronchoscopy. The chapter discusses a case study of a previously healthy 34-year-old male found to have an incidental finding of a radiopaque foreign body on the chest radiograph. The foreign body removal procedure was performed in a fully equipped bronchoscopy suite under moderate sedation with intravenous midazolam and morphine.