Neglected Foreign Bodies in Bronchi in Adults: Experience of 2 Cases

Tracheobronchial foreign body (FB) aspiration is a life-threatening condition that is more common in children than in adults. They are often diagnosed immediately and the foreign body is extracted as soon as possible. However, cases of neglected foreign body aspiration where it is unknown to the patients or they have forgotten the history of aspiration have been reported in the literature. The symptoms depend on the site of the FB impaction ranging from chronic mild wheezing, through to a cough, a complaint of discomfort, general shortness of breath, recurrent pneumonia, or mimicking asthma. In this article, we intend to illustrate two cases of forgotten bronchial foreign bodies that were successfully treated via the process of bronchoscopic extraction in Hanoi Medical University Hospital.