[Bronchial Foreign Body Removed by Bronchotomy from the Anterior Side of the Pulmonary Hilum；Report of a Case].

Although many bronchial foreign bodies can be extracted by flexible bronchoscopy, it is sometimes difficult because of size and form of foreign bodies. A 78-year-old man who had been bedridden for 1 year presented to another hospital due to fever and hemoptysis. Chest X-ray showed a dental crown in the left inferior lobe bronchus. Although flexible bronchoscopic extraction was attempted 3 times, the dental crown could not be removed because it was tightly stuck in the bronchus. Open thoracotomy was performed on the next day in our hospital. After dissection of a severe adhesion, we reached the left inferior lobe bronchus from the anterior side of the pulmonary hilum and extracted the crown through a transverse incision of the bronchus. The patient was discharged 7 days after surgery without any complications. Surgical extraction of a bronchial foreign body can be managed safely even in bedridden patients suffering from a brain infarction.