Traditional surgeries for gastric foreign bodies involve lateral or ventral gastrotomy. However, due to the interference of the air sac and the presence of many ligaments around the stomach, the surgeries are difficult to perform. Foreign statistics have shown that the success rate of these surgeries is less than 50%.

The reasons for death after surgery include: the digestive mucosa has been severely damaged, sometimes due to metal foreign bodies dissolving and causing poisoning, sometimes due to sharp foreign bodies causing ulcers or mucosal detachment or even rupture, and sometimes due to the tension formed by twisted soft tubes causing the stomach to be stretched and dilated, losing its tightness. There are also cases of aspiration pneumonia caused by vomiting.

To address the root cause, there may be underlying issues that need to be considered. Sometimes, animals start eating abnormally due to pathological changes in their mucosa. In such cases, removing the foreign body alone will not resolve the mucosal lesion. If your bird is experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, eating abnormally, or slow emptying of the crop, please refrain from self-medicating or continuing with ineffective treatments. Instead, you should seek professional help.

There are many types of foreign bodies, some of which are easier to retrieve while others are more difficult, depending on their location and the size of the bird. Plastic foreign bodies often cannot be imaged through X-rays, making them difficult to locate and identify. However, endoscopy can effectively reveal plastic foreign bodies, making them impossible to hide.

It is also common for the feeding tube to fall into the crop or stomach during feeding. However, these can be solved through endoscopic surgery, with small or even no wounds. The application of endoscopy is definitely not limited to the digestive tract, but is very helpful in the diagnosis of the trachea and respiratory tract, as well as the reproductive system.