Methods: Between 1982 and 1998, 484 endoscopic procedures were performed in patients with suspected tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration and retrospective review was undertaken at our thoracic surgery department. The following factors were evaluated: sex, age, nature of the foreign body, localisation in the respiratory tree, clinical symptoms, radiological findings, time lapse between diagnosis and removal.

Results: Male-female ratio was 1.2:1. In 15.8% of the cases foreign body was not detected. In 97.1% of these cases objects were removed via rigit broncoscopy. Peripherally impocted foreign body or inadequate grasping resulted in thoracotomy + bronchotomy in 12 patients. The most (40.6%) removed foreign bodies were pins, 21% of the foreign bodies were nuts, and 38.4% were varying type of foreign bodies. Fiftyfour percent of the aspirated foreign bodies have been found in the right bronchial system, 29.4% in the left, 14.1% in trachea and 1.9% in both bronchial systems. There was a complication rate of 3.1%, and 4 mortalities due to the nature and localizations of the foreign body in the whole series.

Conclusions: Tracheobronchial foreign bodies, especially under 3 years old children, may cause life threatining complications. In addition, pin aspiration become a serious problem for over 10 years old females.