Most foreign bodies (i.e. an object your child may have swallowed) are removed from the upper gastrointestinal tract (esophagus and stomach). Some foreign bodies require urgent removal and some do not. Many can safely pass through your child's gastrointestinal tract. 

If your child has an object lodged in the upper GI tract that won’t pass on its own, doctors will sedate your child, then use an endoscope to remove the foreign object. Dozens of different instruments can be applied through an endoscope; doctors will use the best tool depending on type, size and location of the item swallowed.

This intervention is only available at CHOP’s Main Campus.