The first case is of interest in showing the length of time that a large and irregular-shaped foreign body can be retained in the esophagus, the conclusions arrived at as to the safest procedure for its removal, and the operation.
Case 1.—J. S. (referred by Dr. Harry Landesman, New York), aged 34, married, machine worker in factory, whose family and personal history were negative, had been perfectly well up to nine weeks before I saw him, when, during his sleep one night, he was awakened by a strangling sensation and a pain in his throat. Within a moment he noticed that the right incisor tooth of the upper jaw, with the plate on which it was attached, was missing. He made efforts with his fingers to extract the plate from his throat but could not feel it. After an hour or two the symptoms of distress subsided and he fell