With present instruments the art of removing foreign bodies from either the bronchi or the esophagus requires on occasions consummate skill and a broad array of instruments, both of which are not always available to the endoscopist who removes foreign bodies only occasionally. Some types of forceps, because of mechanical factors inherent in their construction, require complex manipulations which make them difficult for occasional use and demand preternatural skill on the part of the operator. Most available forceps have proximal parts which act as encumbrances to proper visibility when introduced into either an esophagoscope or a bronchoscope. This difficulty can be offset in most cases by withdrawing the forceps and then looking down along the cannula directly; but then the use of the working length of the forceps is lost, and a foreign body may be within tantalizing proximity and still not available to the grasp of the jaws.
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